Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Nuclear theory”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Differential charge radii: Proton-neutron interaction effects

The analysis of self-consistency and proton-neutron interaction effects in the buildup of differential charge radii were carried out in covariant density functional theoretical calculations without pairing interaction on the example of selected configurations in the Pb isotopes. The proton-neutron interaction of neutron(s) added to the neutron 𝑁 = 126 core and the protons forming the 𝑍 = 82 proton core is responsible for a major contribution to the buildup of differential charge radii. It depends on the products of proton and neutron wave functions and thus on their nodal structure. This interaction leads to a redistribution of single-particle density of occupied proton states which in turn modifies the charge radii. Furthermore, the microscopic origin of this redistribution and its consequences for differential charge radii were investigated for the first time. Self-consistency effects affecting the shape of proton potential, total proton densities and the energies of the single-particle proton states provide only minor contribution to differential charge radii.

190 ≤ A ≤ 219↗
DOE OSTI2023

Anchor-based optimization of energy density functionals

A new anchor-based optimization method of defining energy density functionals (EDFs) is proposed. In this approach, the optimization of the parameters of EDFs is carried out for a selected set of spherical anchor nuclei, the physical observables of which are modified by the correction function, which takes into account the global performance of EDFs. It is shown that the use of this approach leads to a substantial improvement in the global description of binding energies for several classes of covariant EDFs. Here, the computational cost of defining a new functional within this approach is drastically lower as compared with the one for the optimization which includes the global experimental data on spherical, transitional, and deformed nuclei in the fitting protocol.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Influence of the symmetry energy on the nuclear binding energies and the neutron drip line position

A clear connection can be established between properties of nuclear matter and finite-nuclei observables, such as the correlation between the slope of the symmetry energy and the dipole polarizability, or between compressibility and the isoscalar monopole giant resonance excitation energy. Establishing a connection between realistic atomic nuclei and an idealized infinite nuclear matter leads to a better understanding of underlying physical mechanisms that govern nuclear dynamics. In this work, we aim to study the dependence of the binding energies and related quantities (e.g., location of drip lines, the total number of bound even-even nuclei) on the symmetry energy S 2 (ρ). The properties of finite nuclei are calculated by employing the relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov model, assuming even-even axial and reflection symmetric nuclei. Calculations are performed by employing two families of relativistic energy density functionals, based on different effective Lagrangians, constrained to a specific symmetry energy at the saturation density J within the interval of 30–36 MeV. Nuclear binding energies and related quantities of bound nuclei are calculated between 8 ≤ Z ≤ 104 from the two-proton to the two-neutron drip line. As the neutron drip line is approached, the interactions with stiffer J tend to predict more bound nuclei, resulting in a systematic shift of the two-neutron drip line towards more neutron-rich nuclei. Consequentially, a correlation between the number of bound nuclei N nucl and S 2 (ρ) is established for a set of functionals constrained using the similar optimization procedures. Furthermore the direction of the relationship between the number of bound nuclei and the symmetry energy highly depends on the density under consideration.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Examining the justification for the introduction of a fermion localization function

Becke and Edgecombe suggested in 1990 a theoretical tool to describe electron localization in atoms and molecules, an idea which was borrowed by a large number of nuclear theorists since 2011 to describe nucleon localization in nuclear systems. I argue here that these arguments are highly questionable and cannot be used in interacting systems where effects beyond the naive mean field or the simple Hartree-Fock framework are important and the inclusion of correlations induced by particle interactions is necessary in order to introduce such a localization function. Furthermore, I also describe several aspects of the exchange and irreducible two-body density matrices, which depend on the character and strength of the two-particle interaction and which can be useful in justifying the derivation of an appropriate energy density functional.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Gamow-Teller Strength in Ca 48 and Ni 78 with the Charge-Exchange Subtracted Second Random-Phase Approximation

Here, we develop a fully self-consistent subtracted second random-phase approximation for charge-exchange processes with Skyrme energy-density functionals. As a first application, we study Gamow-Teller excitations in the doubly magic nucleus 48 Ca, the lightest double-β emitter that could be used in an experiment, and in 78 Ni, the single-beta-decay rate of which is known. The amount of Gamow-Teller strength below 20 or 30 MeV is considerably smaller than in other energy-density-functional calculations and agrees better with experiment in 48 Ca, as does the beta-decay rate in 78 Ni. These important results, obtained without ad hoc quenching factors, are due to the presence of two-particle–two-hole configurations. Their density progressively increases with excitation energy, leading to a long high-energy tail in the spectrum, a fact that may have implications for the computation of nuclear matrix elements for neutrinoless double-β decay in the same framework.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Coupled-Cluster Calculations of Neutrinoless Double- β Decay in Ca 48

We use coupled-cluster theory and nuclear interactions from chiral effective field theory to compute the nuclear matrix element for the neutrinoless double-$\beta$ decay of $^{48}$Ca. Benchmarks with the no-core shell model in several light nuclei inform us about the accuracy of our approach. For $^{48}$Ca we find a relatively small matrix element. We also compute the nuclear matrix element for the two-neutrino double-$\beta$ decay of $^{48}$Ca with a quenching factor deduced from two-body currents in recent ab initio calculation of the Ikeda sum rule in $^{48}$Ca [Gysbers et al., Nat. Phys. 15, 428 (2019)].

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Extraction of ground-state nuclear deformations from ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions: Nuclear structure physics context

The collective-flow-assisted nuclear shape-imaging method in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions (UHICs) has recently been used to characterize nuclear collective states. In this paper, we assess the foundations of the shape-imaging technique employed in these studies. We argue that some current UHIC nuclear imaging techniques neglect fundamental aspects of spontaneous symmetry breaking and symmetry restoration in colliding ions and incorrectly infer one-body multipole moments from studies of nucleonic correlations. Therefore, the impact of this approach on nuclear structure research has been overstated. Conversely, efforts to incorporate existing knowledge on nuclear shapes into analysis pipelines can be beneficial for benchmarking tools and calibrating models used to extract information from ultrarelativistic heavy-ion experiments.

Nuclear data analysis & compilation↗
DOE OSTI2022

𝛼-cluster structure in 19 F and 19 Ne in resonant scattering

This work investigates the nuclear structure of 19 F and 19 Ne, which is important for understanding α clustering in the A = 20 mass region and for astrophysical applications. The only high-resolution, broad angular- and energy-range study of the 19 F resonance structure in α + 15 N scattering was published over 60 years ago, when a detailed analysis of complex excitation functions with overlapping resonances and multiple decay channels was not feasible. We have performed a modern R-matrix analysis of these data to assign spins and determine resonance parameters for levels in 19 F up to an excitation energy of 8.2 MeV. Our R-matrix parameters were successfully tested by fitting recent α + 15 N data obtained with the Thick Target Inverse Kinematics (TTIK) method at 180°. The new 19 F parameters were then used to fit TTIK data for α + 15 O, the mirror resonant reaction. In conclusion, comparison of these isobaric mirror reactions provides valuable insight into the underlying nuclear structure.

6 ≤ A ≤ 19↗
DOE OSTI2022

Benchmark calculations of infinite neutron matter with realistic two- and three-nucleon potentials

In this study, we present the equation of state of infinite neutron matter as obtained from highly realistic Hamiltonians that include nucleon-nucleon and three-nucleon coordinate-space potentials. We benchmark three independent many-body methods: Brueckner-Bethe-Goldstone (BBG), Fermi hypernetted chain/single-operator chain (FHNC/SOC), and auxiliary-field diffusion Monte Carlo (AFDMC). We find them to provide similar equations of state when the Argonne v 18 and the Argonne v' 6 nucleon-nucleon potentials are used in combination with the Urbana IX three-body force. Only at densities larger than about 1.5 the nuclear saturation density ( ρ 0 =0.16 fm ⁻3 ) the FHNC/SOC energies are appreciably lower than the other two approaches. The AFDMC calculations carried out with all of the Norfolk potentials fitted to reproduce the experimental trinucleon ground-state energies and nd doublet scattering length yield unphysically bound neutron matter, associated with the formation of neutron droplets. Including tritium β decay in the fitting procedure, as in the second family of Norfolk potentials, mitigates but does not completely resolve this problem. An excellent agreement between the BBG and AFDMC results is found for the subset of Norfolk interactions that do not make neutron-matter collapse, while the FHNC/SOC equations of state are moderately softer.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Ab initio translationally invariant nucleon-nucleus optical potentials

We combine the ab initio symmetry-adapted no-core shell model (SA-NCSM) with the single-particle Green's function approach to construct optical potentials rooted in first principles. Specifically, we show that total cross sections and phase shifts for neutron elastic scattering from a 4 He target with projectile energies between 0.5 and 10 MeV closely reproduce the experiment. In addition, we discuss an important new development that resolves a long-standing issue with spurious center-of-mass motion in the Green's function formalism for many-body approaches. Furthermore, the new development opens a path for first-principle predictions of cross sections for elastic scattering of single-nucleon projectiles, nucleon capture, and deuteron breakup reactions, feasible for a broad range of open-shell spherical and deformed nuclei in the SA-NCSM approach.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Towards grounding nuclear physics in QCD

Exascale computing could soon enable a predictive theory of nuclear structure and reactions rooted in the Standard Model, with quantifiable and systematically improvable uncertainties. Such a predictive theory will help exploit experiments that use nucleons and nuclei as laboratories for testing the Standard Model and its limitations. Examples include direct dark matter detection, neutrinoless double beta decay, and searches for permanent electric dipole moments of the neutron and atoms. It will also help connect QCD to the properties of cold neutron stars and hot supernova cores. We discuss how a quantitative bridge between QCD and the properties of nuclei and nuclear matter will require a synthesis of lattice QCD (especially as applied to two- and three- nucleon interactions), effective field theory, and ab initio methods for solving the nuclear many-body problem. While there are significant challenges that must be addressed in developing this triad of theoretical tools, the rapid advance of computing is accelerating progress. In particular, we focus this review on the anticipated advances from lattice QCD and how these advances will impact few-body effective theories of nuclear physics by providing critical input, such as constraints on unknown low-energy constants of the effective (field) theories. We also review particular challenges that must be overcome for the successful application of lattice QCD for low-energy nuclear physics. We describe progress in developing few-body effective (field) theories of nuclear physics, with an emphasis on HOBET, a non-relativistic effective theory of nuclear physics, which is less common in the literature. We use the examples of neutrinoless double beta decay and the nuclear-matter equation of state to illustrate how the coupling of lattice QCD to effective theory might impact our understanding of symmetries and exotic astrophysical environments.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Nuclear multipole responses from chiral effective field theory interactions

We probe nuclear multipole resonances in the framework of the random-phase approximation by using the interaction obtained from the chiral effective field theory. The three-nucleon force is included in a form of the in-medium two-nucleon interaction, which was derived from the chiral three-nucleon force. The isoscalar monopole, isoscalar dipole, isovector dipole, and isoscalar quadrupole resonances of the closed-shell 56,68,78 Ni have been investigated. The calculations reasonably reproduce the experimental multipole resonances of 56,68 Ni, and well describe the pygmy dipole resonance and dipole polarizability measured in 68 Ni. The multipole resonances of 78 Ni, including pygmy dipole resonance and dipole polarizability, are predicted. The detailed effects of the tensor force and three-body force are analyzed by dissecting the chiral interaction. In this work, we find that in general the tensor force effect on electric giant resonances is not as significant as the effect from the three-body force, although the tensor force provides more than half of the binding energy. The effect from three-body force is strong in light nuclei. Particularly, three-body force is crucial for the formation of the pygmy resonance in calculations.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

New Class of Three-Nucleon Forces and Their Implications

Here, we identify a new class of three-nucleon forces that arises in the low-energy effective theory of nuclear interactions including pions. We estimate their contribution to the energy of neutron and nuclear matter and find that it can be as important as the leading-order three-nucleon forces previously considered in the literature. The magnitude of this force is set by the strength of the coupling of pions to two nucleons and is presently not well constrained by experiments. The implications for nuclei, nuclear matter, and the equation of state of neutron matter are briefly discussed.

chiral perturbation theory↗
DOE OSTI2024

Neck Rupture and Scission Neutrons in Nuclear Fission

Just before a nucleus undergoes fission, a neck is formed between the emerging fission fragments. It is widely accepted that this neck undergoes a rather violent rupture, despite the absence of unambiguous experimental evidence. The main difficulty in addressing the neck rupture and saddle-to-scission stages of fission is that both are highly nonequilibrium processes. Here, we present the first fully microscopic characterization of the scission mechanism, along with the spectrum and the spatial distribution of scission neutrons (SNs), and some upper limit estimates for the emission of charged particles. The spectrum of SNs has a distinct angular distribution, with neutrons emitted in roughly equal numbers in the equatorial plane and along the fission axis. They carry an average energy around 3±0.5 MeV for the fission of 236 U, 240 Pu, and 252 Cf, and a maximum of 16–18 MeV. We estimate a conservative lower bound of 9%–14% of the total emitted neutrons are produced at scission.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Angular momentum of fission fragments from microscopic theory

During nuclear fission, a heavy nucleus splits into two rotating fragments. The associated angular momentum is large, yet the mechanism of its generation and its dependence on the mass of fragments remain poorly understood. In this Letter, we provide the first microscopic calculations of angular-momentum distributions in fission fragments for a wide range of fragment masses. For the benchmark case of 239 Pu(n th ,f), we find that the angular momentum of the fragments is largely determined by the nuclear shell structure and deformation, and that the heavy fragments therefore typically carry less angular momentum than their light partners. We use the fission model freya to simulate the emission of neutrons and photons from the fragments. The dependence of the angular momenta on fragment mass after the emission of neutrons and statistical photons is linear for the heavy fragments and either constant or weakly linear for the light fragments, consistent with the universal sawtooth pattern suggested by recent experimental data. Finally, we observe that using microscopic angular-momentum distributions modifies the number of emitted photons significantly.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗