Current status of nuclear shell effects near the r-process path Original Research Article

We discuss the current understanding of the nuclear shell effects for r-process nuclei at the magic numbers N = 82 and N = 126. W ith the microscopic approach of the relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov theory it is shown that the shell effects at N = 82 remain moderately strong at the r-process path and vanish in going to the drip line leading to the terminus stratum. The shell effects at N = 126 are shown to exhibit a different character.