Deformation dependence of the isovector giant dipole resonance: The   neodymium isotopic chain revisited
  Proton inelastic scattering experiments at energy E_p = 200 MeV and a spectrometer scattering angle of 0 degree were performed on 144,146,148,150Nd and 152Sm exciting the IsoVector Giant Dipole Resonance (IVGDR). Comparison with results from photo-absorption experiments reveals a shift of resonance maxima towards higher energies for vibrational and transitional nuclei. The extracted photo-absorption cross sections in the most deformed nuclei, 150Nd and 152Sm, exhibit a pronounced asymmetry rather than a distinct double-hump structure expected as a signature of K-splitting. This behaviour can be related to the proximity of these nuclei to the critical point of the phase shape transition from vibrators to rotors with a soft quadrupole deformation potential. Self-consistent random-phase approximation (RPA) calculations using the SLy6 Skyrme force provide a relevant description of the IVGDR shapes deduced from the present data 
L.M. Donaldson (1,2), C.A. Bertulani (3), J. Carter (1), V.O.   Nesterenko (4), P. von Neumann-Cosel (5), R. Neveling (2), P...
nucl-ex nucl-th