 Nuclear shell closure

Filling the accessible one-species nuclear shell model states below a substantial energy gap. A closed spherical $j$ level has all $m_j$ values occupied, so their sum is zero. In the independent-particle picture, a closed core therefore contributes zero total angular momentum; a single particle outside it, or a single missing particle inside it, supplies the leading spin assignment. Residual interactions can change this simple picture.

The three-dimensional isotropic harmonic oscillator alone has one-species shell capacities $(q+1)(q+2)$ for oscillator index $q=0,1,\dots$, including spin. Summing gives closures $2,8,20,40,70,112,\dots$, rather than the complete traditional magic number sequence. Strong nuclear spin-orbit splitting can separate a high-$j$ level from its former neighbors. Realistic radial potential energies and residual interactions also matter: a chosen oscillator plus an arbitrary single constant is not a demonstrated explanation of every real nuclear gap.

Traditional nuclear shell closures can weaken along isotope chains far from stability, as in neutron-rich magnesium.^[ref]

The relevant test is the actual energy gap and the correlated nuclear quantum states, rather than membership in an immutable numerical list.