Nuclear-induced autoionization of radioactive atoms

In the experiment, where the atomic electron cloud serves as an indicator of nuclear isomeric transitions, measurements of the perturbation of the ionic charge-state distribution from the known isomeric transition of the 173Hf nucleus obtained in a heavy-ion-induced reaction, were carried out. As a result, a definite experimental confirmation has been obtained for the effect of nuclear forbidden transitions on their atomic electron cloud. The importance and possibilities of this effect for the study of the interplay of nuclear and atomic excitations are discussed