Isoscalar giant monopole strength in 58Ni, 90Zr, 120Sn and 208Pb

Abstract

Inelastic α-particle scattering at energies of a few hundred MeV and very-forward scattering angles including 0° has been established as a tool for the study of the isoscalar giant monopole (IS0) strength distributions in nuclei. This compressional mode of nuclear excitation can be used to derive the incompressibility of nuclear matter. An independent investigation of the IS0 strength in nuclei across a wide mass range was performed using the 0◦ facility at iThemba Laboratory for Accelerator Based Sciences (iThemba LABS), South Africa, to understand differences observed between IS0 strength distributions in previous experiments performed at the Texas A&M University (TAMU) Cyclotron Institute, USA and the Research Center for Nuclear Physics (RCNP), Japan.