Discontinuities in the Nuclear Mass Surface

Abstract

Proton and neutron binding energies are analyzed in such a way as to permit an approximate assessment of the effects associated with pairing and shell structure. We draw several interesting conclusions with respect to the accuracy of various theoretical expressions which have been proposed for the pairing effect. Our analysis of the data and considerations of an atomic model lead us to a simple approximate representation of a shell stabilizing correction to nuclear energies. This shell structure term accounts rather well for the observed departures from the general trends of beta-stability, nuclear masses, and nuclear $Q$ values. Our shell correction suggests that much larger systematic variations in nuclear masses may be identified with shell structure effects than might previously have been suspected.