Angular Distributions of<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mi mathvariant="italic">α</mml:mi></mml:math>Particles Emitted by Deformed Oriented Nuclei

Abstract

A detailed quantitative experimental investigation of the influence of nuclear deformation on the angular distribution of $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ particles emitted by oriented nuclei is reported. The favored $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ transitions in the decay of the deformed nuclei ${}^{221}\mathrm{Fr}$, ${}^{227}\mathrm{Pa}$, and ${}^{229}\mathrm{Pa}$ were studied. In all three cases, very large anisotropies have been observed. The results are in good agreement with calculations based on $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ particle tunneling through a deformed Coulomb barrier.