beta--delayed spectroscopy of neutron-rich tantalum nuclei: Shape evolution in neutron-rich tungsten isotopes

The low-lying structure of W-188,W-190,W-192 has been studied following beta decays of the neutron-rich mother nuclei Ta-188,Ta-190,Ta-192 produced following the projectile fragmentation of a 1-GeV-per-nucleon Pb-208 primary beam on a natural beryllium target at the GSI Fragment Separator. The beta-decay half-lives of Ta-188, Ta-190, and Ta-192 have been measured, with gamma-ray decays of low-lying states in their respective W daughter nuclei, using heavy-ion beta-gamma correlations and a position-sensitive silicon detector setup. The data provide information on the low-lying excited states in W-188, W-190, and W-192, which highlight a change in nuclear shape at W-190 compared with that of lighter W isotopes. This evolution of ground-state structure along the W isotopic chain is discussed as evidence for a possible proton subshell effect for the A similar to 190 region and is consistent with maximization of the gamma-softness of the nuclear potential around N similar to 116. (Less)