Nuclear Physics Seminar with Robert Charity on Proton-rich Exotica

This talk describes our exploration of the chart of nuclides around and beyond the proton drip line. I will focus on ground and low-lying states that decay into four or more pieces. Our experimental technique utilizes the invariant-mass method which is particularly suited for understanding the decay channels of these levels. First, we will discuss states that process strong alpha-particle clustering in their density distributions with large deviations from spherical symmetry. While such states are well known in normal and neutron-rich nuclei, I will show proton-rich examples that can decay by emitting two-protons simultaneously. The second part of the talk will focus on the structure of nuclei as one goes further beyond the proton drip line towards the edge of existence of proton-rich isotopes. This is a region with multiple-proton emissions even in ground states. I will show examples of our latest identification of 3, 4, and 5 proton emitters.