The shape of the nuclei revealed by laser spectroscopy
Prof. Dr. Catherine Thibault (Centre de Spectrométrie Nucléaire et de Spectrométrie de Masse (CSNSM), Orsay/F)

High resolution laser spectroscopy on short-lived radioactive nuclei started at the beginning of the seventies allowing the study of long isotopic chains. As the atomic spectrum is sensitive to the shape of the nucleus, some very abrupt and spectacular shape changes could be pointed out from the very first experiments. Thirty years later, this topic has always been with us and is still very exciting. The colloquium will start with a short presentation of the motivations to study the shape of nuclei far from stability, and how laser spectroscopy may bring information on it. The power of the relevant techniques will be demonstrated by some highlights taken from the pioneering work of Gerhard Huber all along the thirty last years..