https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/s10050-025-01569-7
Invited Viewpoint and Perspective
Deciphering spin-parity assignments of nuclear levels
1
Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 27599-3255, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
2
Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory (TUNL), 27708, Durham, NC, USA
Received:
19
February
2025
Accepted:
14
April
2025
Published online:
28
April
2025
Spin-parity assignments of nuclear levels are critical for understanding nuclear structure and reactions. However, inconsistent notation conventions and ambiguous reporting in research papers often lead to confusion and misinterpretations. This paper examines the policies of the Evaluated Nuclear Structure Data File (ENSDF) and the evaluations by Endt and collaborators, highlighting key differences in their approaches to spin-parity notation. Sources of confusion are identified, including ambiguous use of strong and weak arguments and the conflation of new experimental results with prior constraints. Recommendations are provided to improve clarity and consistency in reporting spin-parity assignments, emphasizing the need for explicit notation conventions, clear differentiation of argument strengths, community education, and separate reporting of new findings. These steps aim to enhance the accuracy and utility of nuclear data for both researchers and evaluators.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
