https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/s10050-025-01642-1
Regular Article - Experimental Physics
Quasicontinuum M1 
strength as function of nuclear deformation
1
Department of Physics, University of Oslo, 0316, Oslo, Norway
2
Norwegian Nuclear Research Centre, 0316, Oslo, Norway
Received:
1
June
2025
Accepted:
8
July
2025
Published online:
17
July
2025
In this investigation, we examine the mean transition probabilities of low-energy -rays within the quasicontinuum excitation region. Particular emphasis is placed on the low-energy enhancement (LEE) and scissors mode (SM) structures, which are observed in the -ray strength function (SF). The stable isotopic chain of neodymium includes nuclei that range from nearly spherical to well-deformed shapes. Consequently, analyzing the LEE and SM structures in relation to deformation may elucidate the characteristics of these phenomena. It has been observed that the integrated measured -ray strength of the LEE reaches a maximum of 
at a deformation of 
, while the SM attains a maximum of 
at 
. Furthermore, the two phenomena display different average energies. These experimental findings suggest that the origins of the two structures arise from distinct mechanisms.
© The Author(s) 2025
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