PHYSICA SCRIPTA, cilt.87, sa.6, 2013 (SCI-Expanded)
Constrained relativistic mean field theory (RMF) has been employed for analysis of the shape phase transitions of even–even 52−66Cr isotopes. The systematic investigation of ground-state shape evolution between spherical U(5) and γ-unstable O(6) for these nuclei has been carried out by using the potential energy curves (PECs) obtained from the effective interactions NL3*, TM1, PK1 and DD-ME2. The calculated PECs have indicated that 58Cr can be a candidate for the critical-point nucleus with E(5) symmetry. A similar conclusion is also drawn from the calculated single-particle spectra of 58Cr and is supported by the experimental data via observed ratios of the excitation energies. Furthermore, the γ-independent character of 58Cr has been pointed out by using its binding energy map in the β–γ plane obtained from the triaxial RMF calculations, in agreement with the condition of E(5) symmetry.