Study of isotope shifts, isotone shifts and nuclear compressibility from the analysis of muonic x-ray transitions

Muonic x-ray transitions in various spherical nuclei in the region 13<=Z<=83 have been analysed and the isotope and isotone shifts in charge radius R are investigated. Assuming R=rsub(o)Asup(1/2), the isotopic and isotonic behaviour of the parameter rsub(o)(=RAsup(-1/2)) is also studied. The variation of rsub(o) with mass number A reveals the variation of averaqe nucleon density, which in turn sheds light on the compressibility of nuclear matter. The isotope and isotone shifts in R exhibit the shell effects in the vicinity of magic neutron and proton numbers: 20, 28, 50, 82 and 126. The results indicate that neutron-proton interaction is maximum at the beginning of a major neutron shell and decreases gradually as the shell gets filled up. The behaviour of parameter rsub(o) clearly suggests that low-Z nuclei are highly compressible while high-Z nuclei are more or less incompressible. The parameter rsub(o) too is observed to exhibit profound shell effects. (author)