NON-AXIAL OCTUPOLE DEFORMATION OF A HEAVY NUCLEUS

The effect of the non-axial octupole deformation a32(Y-32 + Y3-2) of heavy nuclei on their potential energy is studied. The study is performed within a macroscopic-microscopic approach. It is found that the largest effect appears for the nucleus Fm-238 and consists in a lowering of the energy by more than 3 MeV with respect to the energy at the spherical configuration.