K. Zuber

Combining laser spectroscopy in a Versatile Arc Discharge and Laser Ion Source, with Penning-trap mass spectrometry at the CERN-ISOLDE facility, this work reports on mean-square charge radii of neutron-rich mercury isotopes across the $N = 126$ shell closure, the electromagnetic moments of $^{207}$Hg and more precise mass values of $^{206-208}$Hg. The odd-even staggering (OES) of the mean square charge radii and the kink at $N = 126$ are analyzed within the framework of covariant density functional theory (CDFT), with comparisons between different functionals to investigate the dependence of the results on the underlying single-particle structure. The observed features are defined predominantly in the particle-hole channel in CDFT, since both are present in the calculations without pairing. However, the magnitude of the kink is still affected by the occupation of the $1i_{11/2}$ and $2g_{9/2}$ orbitals with a dependence on the relative energies as well as pairing.

A new technique has been developed at TRIUMF's TITAN facility to perform in-trap decay spectroscopy. The aim of this technique is to eventually measure weak electron capture branching ratios (ECBRs) and by this to consequently determine GT matrix elements of $ββ$ decaying nuclei. These branching ratios provide important input to the theoretical description of these decays. The feasibility and power of the technique is demonstrated by measuring the ECBR of $^{124}$Cs.