Nuclear shapes studied by Coulomb excitation

Nuclear E2 properties are a direct and unambiguous measure of the collective shape parameters for quadrupole collectivity. Coulomb excitation selectively excites collective states with cross-sections that are a direct measure of the E2 matrix elements. Bohr and Mottelson were the first to recognize that Coulomb excitation is the preeminent probe for studying quadrupole collective motion. The purpose of this talk is to outline the recent advances in the field of Coulomb excitation and then to apply them to the study of collective motion in nuclei. (Auth.)