Nuclear Science Laboratory graduate student Cade Dembski has published a paper on the structure of the neutron-rich isotope ⁷⁰Co in Springer Nature’s open-access physics journal, Communications Physics. The manuscript, titled “Extreme Shape Coexistence Observed in ⁷⁰Co”, identifies two nuclear states with significantly differing shapes. The result was particularly unusual because the two states are quite close in energy and have identical spin/parity quantum numbers - making this a rare case of the phenomenon known as “shape coexistence.”

The experiment was performed in the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at Michigan State University, where Cade received his undergraduate degree before coming to University of Notre Dame to pursue his Ph.D. under the guidance of Prof. Daniel Bardayan.