New evidence for triton and helion clustering in nuclei

Abstract

Normally one plots separation energies $S_{1n}$ and $S_{2n}$ as a function of neutron number $N$ for a particular proton number $Z$ or plot $S_{1p}$ and $S_{2p}$ as a function of $Z$ for a particular $N$. Here we plot the separation energies a little differently: $S_{1n}$ and $S_{2n}$ as a function of $Z$ for a particular $N$. The same with $S_{1p}$ and $S_{2p}$ as a function of N for a particular Z. A systematic study of these new plots brings out certain very interesting generic features which clearly indicate presence of triton ("t") ${^{3}_{1} H_{2}}$ and helion ("h") ${^{3}_{2} He_{1}}$ clustering in nuclei.