Ab initio computations of strongly deformed nuclei near Zr80

Atomic nuclei near mass 80 with approximately equal numbers of protons and neutrons are known to be strongly deformed while different shapes coexist in the same nucleus. These phenomena have challenged nuclear models but are also an opportunity to test the advances in theoretical approaches. The authors perform a00exb-i00exn00exi00ext00exi00exo coupled-cluster calculations for even-even nuclei near neutron-deficient ⁸⁰Zr, including calculations of $B(E2)$ transitions, using chiral N00exN and N00exN00exN forces. The results adequately describe shape coexistence even if they cannot unambiguously determine ground-state shapes. The calculations are a significant step forward in mass number for a00exb-i00exn00exi00ext00exi00exo computations of deformed nuclei.