This work centres around development and applications of the Resonance Ionization Laser Ion Source (RILIS) of the ISOLDE radioactive ion beam facility based at CERN. The RILIS applies step-wise resonance photo-ionization, to achieve an unparalleled degree of element selectivity, without compromising on ion source efficiency. Because of this, it has become the most commonly used ion source at ISOLDE, operating for up to 75% of ISOLDE experiments. In addition to its normal application as an ion source, the RILIS can be exploited as a spectroscopic tool for the study of nuclear ground state and isomer properties, by resolving the influence of nuclear parameters on the atomic energy levels of the ionization scheme. There are two avenues of development by which to widen the applicability of the RILIS: laser ionization scheme development, enabling new or more efficient laser ionized ion beams and the development of new laser-atom interaction regions. New ionization schemes for chromium, tellurium, germanium, mercury and radium have been determined. Additionally, for the first time, the anode cavity of the VADIS, ISOLDE's variant of the FEBIAD type arc discharge ion source was used as the laser-atom interaction region. A new element selective RILIS mode of operation was established, enabling the ISOLDE RILIS to be coupled with molten targets for the first time, increasing the flexibility of ISOLDE operation and opening a direction for future developments. This combined ion source was termed the VADLIS or Versatile Arc Discharge and Laser Ion Source. A combination of the developments presented in this thesis: an improvement of the laser ionization efficiency and the ability to couple the RILIS with molten targets, satisfied the pre-requisites for the long-awaited extension of the laser spectroscopy studies of exotic mercury isotopes. A sudden onset of extreme shape staggering in the neutron deficient mercury isotopes was revealed by optical pumping and laser spectroscopy experiments at ISOLDE in the 1970s and 1980s, with measurements conducted down to 181Hg. Despite this being one of the most remarkable examples of shape coexistence in the nuclear chart, in the intervening decades the cessation point of this odd-even staggering had yet to be unambiguously determined through measurements of nuclear ground state charge radii. This open question was successfully resolved using the ISOLDE RILIS for in-source resonance ionization spectroscopy. The experiment was performed as part of a large collaboration, using the Leuven Windmill system for alpha-detection; direct ion counting with the ISOLTRAP multi-reflection time-of-fight mass spectrometer (MR-ToF MS); and ion beam current measurements using the ISOLDE Faraday cups. The sensitivity of the technique enabled the measurements to be extended down to 177Hg, providing a definitive answer, that the extreme shape staggering stops at 180Hg. In addition to extending the measurements at the neutron deficient end of the mercury isotope chain, the relative mean square charge radii of both 207Hg and 208Hg was determined. This extended the measurements beyond the N = 126 shell closure, enabling the characterization of the "kink" in the trend of the isotope shifts.

We study the spatial correlations between halo neutrons in 6,8He within the complex-energy Gamow Shell Model (GSM). To this end, we calculate the neutron and proton radii, and two-neutron correlations in a large shell model space consisting of the 0p3/2 resonance and non-resonant p-sd scattering continuum. We use schematic forces and the finite-range Modified Minnesota interaction.The calculated charge radii, corrected for the core polarization and spin-orbit effects, are compared to the values extracted from measured atomic isotope shifts.We find that the charge radius of 6He primarily depends on the two-neutron separation energy and the shell-model occupation of the 0p3/2 orbit.We confirm that the ground-state GSM wave function of 6Heis dominated by the S=0 component representing a di-neutron structure. On the other hand, the correlation density of the 2+ resonance in 6He indicates a very weak di-neutron correlations in this state. We study the effect of pairing correlations on the neutron and charge radii of 6He and we confirm the presence of the Pairing-Anti-Halo effect in this light system.Finally, we calculate the charge radius of 8He in the full GSM space with the help of the Density Matrix Renormalization Group (DMRG) technique. The results of our realistic GSM+DMRG studies presented in this work show promise for extending the reach of the realistic complex-energy shell model to heavier halo systems.

This dissertation applies covariant density functional theory (CDFT), one of the modern theoretical approaches for describing finite nuclei and neutron stars, to investigate the density distribution of nuclei, which is a manifestation of the nodal structure of the single-particle states in physical phenomena, including charge radii and bubbles. A systematic global investigation of differential charge radii has been performed within the CDFT framework for the first time. Available experimental data is compared with theoretical charge radii across the neutron shell closures at N = 28, 50, 82, and 126. Odd-even staggering (OES) in charge radii are believed to be primarily caused by the pairing. Our research proposes a new approach where a considerable contribution to OES in charge radii is provided by the fragmentation of the single-particle content of the ground state in odd-mass nuclei due to particle-vibration coupling. The proton-neutron interaction explained with the nodal structure of the products of the proton and neutron wave functions. However, proton core is responsible for a major contribution to the buildup of differential charge radii. This interaction between protons and neutrons causes a rearrangement of the single-particle density of occupied proton states, which affects the charge radii. According to our microscopic analysis, the shape of the proton potential, the overall proton density, and the energies of the single-particle proton states are all influenced by self-consistency effects, but they have a minimal impact on the differential charge radii. A detailed and microscopic analysis of bubble physics strongly suggests that single-particle processes are primarily responsible for the creation of bubble shapes in superheavy nuclei. The creation of bubble structure is also influenced by nuclear saturation processes and self-consistency effects, and it is dependent on the availability of low-�� single-particle states for occupation since single-particle densities. For the first time, we investigated how nuclear bubbles are formed in the central classically prohibited area at the bottom of the wine bottle potentials, resulting in decreased s state densities at r = 0.

L’objectif de cette thèse est l'étude par spectroscopie laser colinéaire à haute résolution de la structure nucléaire des isotopes d’étain riches en neutrons, vers de la fermeture de couche N=82 et au-delà. Les structures hyperfines et les déplacements isotopiques le long de ¹⁰⁸⁻¹³⁴Sn ont été mesurés en utilisant l’expérience COLLAPS à ISOLDE au CERN. Deux expériences indépendantes, utilisant des propriétés de transitions complémentaires l’une à 452 et l’autre à 286 nanomètres, ont étudiées les états 5p6s ¹P₁ et 5p6s ³P₁ dans l'atome neutre. L'état singlet fournit une sensibilité élevée au moment quadrupolaire tandis que le triplet facilite une grande séparation magnétique. A partir d'une analyse auto-cohérente des deux ensembles de données, les spins nucléaires, les moments électromagnétiques et les rayons de charge ont été extraits. Les propriétés des isomères à vie longue des noyaux ¹¹³Sn, ¹²³Sn, ¹²⁸Sn ainsi que l'état fondamental de ¹³³Sn et ¹³⁴Sn ont été évalués pour la première fois. Les moments quadrupolaires des états 11/2⁻, déterminés avec une plus grande précision que les études précédentes, suivent une tendance presque linéaire. Un coude à N=82 dans la courbe des rayons a été observé pour la première fois. Des calculs de champ moyen fournissent une description précise des rayons et relient en outre la tendance globale aux corrélations provenant des fluctuations des moments quadrupolaires. / The aim of this thesis is the study of nuclear structure properties of the neutron-rich Sn isotopes towards the N=82 shell closure and beyond by high-resolution collinear laser spectroscopy. The hyperfine structures and isotope shifts along ¹⁰⁸⁻¹³⁴Sn were measured using the COLLAPS instrumentation at ISOLDE, CERN. Two independent experiments using transitions with complementary properties, respectively at 452 and 286 nanometres studied the 5p6s ¹P₁ and the 5p6s ³P₁ states in the neutral atom. The singlet state provided high sensitivity to quadrupole moments while the triplet facilitated a large magnetic splitting. From a self-consistent analysis of the two data sets, nuclear spins, electromagnetic moments and charge radii have been extracted. The properties of the long-lived isomers in ¹¹³Sn, ¹²³Sn, ¹²⁸Sn and the ground state of ¹³³Sn and ¹³⁴Sn have been assessed for the first time. The quadrupole moments of the 11/2⁻ states, determined with much higher precision than in previous studies, have been found to follow a nearly linear trend. A "kink" in the radii trend at N=82 was observed for the first time. Beyond mean-field calculations provide an accurate description of the radii and further relate the overall trend to correlations stemming from the fluctuations of the quadrupole moments.