Goeppert Mayer and Jensen nuclear shell model history
ID: goeppert-mayer-and-jensen-nuclear-shell-model-history
The 1948 empirical synthesis preceded the 1949 strong spin-orbit interaction proposals. Johannes Hans Daniel Jensen recalled developing that idea in a discussion with colleagues, independently of Maria Goeppert Mayer's work; their shared problem was to account for the observed magic numbers and spins.[ref]
Glimpses at the History of the Nuclear Structure Theory by Johannes Hans Daniel Jensen. pp. 46–48, empirical evidence and strong spin-orbit proposal
Johannes Hans Daniel Jensen emphasized that even nuclear ground states retain correlations and that independent-particle motion becomes less adequate at higher excitation. This helps explain why the nuclear shell model needs residual interactions and complementary collective descriptions.[ref]
Glimpses at the History of the Nuclear Structure Theory by Johannes Hans Daniel Jensen. pp. 48–49, correlations and configuration mixing
The 1963 Nobel Prize in Physics recognized Maria Goeppert Mayer and Johannes Hans Daniel Jensen for nuclear shell structure. Eugene Paul Wigner's share recognized his contributions to nuclear and elementary-particle theory, especially fundamental symmetry principles, a distinct award motivation.[ref]
All Nobel Prizes by Nobel Prize Outreach. 1963 Physics: separate motivations for Wigner and for Goeppert Mayer and Jensen
New to topics? Read the docs here!