Nuclear sizes and the isotope shift

Jul, 1997
17 pages
Published in:
  • Phys.Rev.A 56 (1997) 4579-4586
e-Print:
Report number:
  • LA-UR-97-2330

Citations per year

1997200420112018202402468101214
Abstract:
Darwin-Foldy nuclear-size corrections in electronic atoms and nuclear radii are discussed from the nuclear-physics perspective. Interpretation of precise isotope-shift measurements is formalism dependent, and care must be exercised in interpreting these results and those obtained from relativistic electron scattering from nuclei. We strongly advocate that the entire nuclear-charge operator be used in calculating nuclear-size corrections in atoms, rather than relegating portions of it to the non-radiative recoil corrections. A preliminary examination of the intrinsic deuteron radius obtained from isotope-shift measurements suggests the presence of small meson-exchange currents (exotic binding contributions of relativistic order) in the nuclear charge operator, which contribute approximately 1/2%.
  • 31.30.-i