SU(3) symmetry breaking in lower fp-shell nuclei

V. G. Gueorguiev, Louisiana State University
J. P. Draayer, Louisiana State University
C. W. Johnson, Louisiana State University

Abstract

Results of shell-model calculations for lower fp-shell nuclei show that SU(3) symmetry breaking in this region is driven by the single-particle spin-orbit splitting. However, even though states of the yrast band exhibit SU(3) symmetry breaking, the results also show that the yrast band B(E2) values are insensitive to this fragmentation of the SU(3) symmetry; specifically, the quadrupole collectivity as measured by B(E2) transition strengths between low lying members of the yrast band remain high even though SU(3) appears to be broken. Results for 44,46,48Ti and 48Cr using the Kuo-Brown-3 two-body interaction are given to illustrate these observations.