Electric Excitation of Heavy Nuclei by Protons

Electric excitation of nuclei has been used to study the low-lying level structure in heavy nuclei. Experimental data for seventeen nuclides are presented, including isotopes of lutecium, hafnium, tantalum, wolfram, rhenium, and platinum. Excitation of twenty-five levels in these nuclei was observed. These data have been interpreted in terms of the hypothesis of nuclear rotational levels proposed by Bohr and Mottelson. Approximate intrinsic electric quadrupole moments of these nuclides determined in two ways from the experimental data are compared and interpreted as evidence for non-uniformity of the charge-mass distribution in nuclei.