381 research outputs found
Microscopic evaluation of the pairing gap
We discuss the relevant progress that has been made in the last few years on
the microscopic theory of the pairing correlation in nuclei and the open
problems that still must be solved in order to reach a satisfactory description
and understanding of the nuclear pairing. The similarities and differences with
the nuclear matter case are emphasized and described by few illustrative
examples. The comparison of calculations of different groups on the same set of
nuclei show, besides agreements, also discrepancies that remain to be
clarified. The role of the many-body correlations, like screening, that go
beyond the BCS scheme, is still uncertain and requires further investigation.Comment: 21 pages,7 figures; minor modification, accepted for publication in
J. Phys.
Particle-Number Restoration within the Energy Density Functional Formalism
We give a detailed analysis of the origin of spurious divergences and finite
steps that have been recently identified in particle-number restoration
calculations within the nuclear energy density functional framework. We isolate
two distinct levels of spurious contributions to the energy. The first one is
encoded in the definition of the basic energy density functional itself whereas
the second one relates to the canonical procedure followed to extend the use of
the energy density functional to multi-reference calculations. The first level
of spuriosity relates to the long-known self-interaction problem and to the
newly discussed self-pairing interaction process which might appear when
describing paired systems with energy functional methods using auxiliary
reference states of Bogoliubov or BCS type. A minimal correction to the second
level of spuriosity to the multi-reference nuclear energy density functional
proposed in [D. Lacroix, T. Duguet, M. Bender, arXiv:0809.2041] is shown to
remove completely the anomalies encountered in particle-number restored
calculations. In particular, it restores sum-rules over (positive) particle
numbers that are to be fulfilled by the particle-number-restored formalism. The
correction is found to be on the order of several hundreds of keVs up to about
1 MeV in realistic calculations, which is small compared to the total binding
energy, but often accounts for a substantial percentage of the energy gain from
particle-number restoration and is on the same energy scale as the excitations
one addresses with multi-reference energy density functional methods.Comment: 37 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in PR
Nuclear Pairing from Chiral Pion-Nucleon Dynamics: Applications to Finite Nuclei
The 1S0 pairing gap in isospin-symmetric nuclear matter and finite nuclei is
investigated using the chiral nucleon-nucleon potential at the N3LO order in
the two-body sector, and the N2LO order in the three-body sector. To include
realistic nuclear forces in RHB (Relativistic Hartree Bolgoliubov) calculations
we rely on a separable form of the pairing interaction adjusted to the bare
nuclear force. The separable pairing force is applied to the analysis of
pairing properties for several isotopic and isotonic chains of spherical
nuclei.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, submitted to PR
Configuration Mixing within the Energy Density Functional Formalism: Removing Spurious Contributions from Non-Diagonal Energy Kernels
Multi-reference calculations along the lines of the Generator Coordinate
Method or the restoration of broken symmetries within the nuclear Energy
Density Functional (EDF) framework are becoming a standard tool in nuclear
structure physics. These calculations rely on the extension of a
single-reference energy functional, of the Gogny or the Skyrme types, to
non-diagonal energy kernels. There is no rigorous constructive framework for
this extension so far. The commonly accepted way proceeds by formal analogy
with the expressions obtained when applying the generalized Wick theorem to the
non-diagonal matrix element of a Hamilton operator between two product states.
It is pointed out that this procedure is ill-defined when extended to EDF
calculations as the generalized Wick theorem is taken outside of its range of
applicability. In particular, such a procedure is responsible for the
appearance of spurious divergences and steps in multi-reference EDF energies,
as was recently observed in calculations restoring particle number or angular
momentum. In the present work, we give a formal analysis of the origin of this
problem for calculations with and without pairing, i.e. constructing the
density matrices from either Slater determinants or quasi-particle vacua. We
propose a correction to energy kernels that removes the divergences and steps,
and which is applicable to calculations based on any symmetry restoration or
generator coordinate. The method is formally illustrated for particle number
restoration and is specified to configuration mixing calculations based on
Slater determinants.Comment: 27 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in PR
On the decay of turbulence in plane Couette flow
The decay of turbulent and laminar oblique bands in the lower transitional
range of plane Couette flow is studied by means of direct numerical simulations
of the Navier--Stokes equations. We consider systems that are extended enough
for several bands to exist, thanks to mild wall-normal under-resolution
considered as a consistent and well-validated modelling strategy. We point out
a two-stage process involving the rupture of a band followed by a slow
regression of the fragments left. Previous approaches to turbulence decay in
wall-bounded flows making use of the chaotic transient paradigm are
reinterpreted within a spatiotemporal perspective in terms of large deviations
of an underlying stochastic process.Comment: ETC13 Conference Proceedings, 6 pages, 5 figure
Observation of the lowest energy gamma-ray in any superdeformed nucleus : 196Bi
New results on the superdeformed Bi nucleus a re reported. We have
observed with the EUROBALL IV -ray spectrometer array a superdeformed
trans ition of 124 keV which is the lowest observed energy -ray in any
superdeformed nucleus. We have de velopped microscopic cranked
Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov calculations using the SLy4 effective force and a
realistic surface p airing which strongly support the
([651]1/2[752]5/2) assignment of this su
perdeformed band
Bare vs effective pairing forces. A microscopic finite-range interaction for HFB calculations in coordinate space
We propose a microscopic effective interaction to treat pairing correlations
in the channel. It is introduced by recasting the gap equation
written in terms of the bare force into a fully equivalent pairing problem.
Within this approach, the proposed interaction reproduces the pairing
properties provided by the realistic force very accurately. Written in
the canonical basis of the actual Bogolyubov transformation, the force takes
the form of an off-shell in-medium two-body matrix in the superfluid phase
multiplied by a BCS occupation number . This interaction is finite
ranged, non local, total-momentum dependent and density dependent. The factor
emerging from the recast of the gap equation provides a natural
cut-off and makes zero-range approximations of the effective vertex meaningful.
Performing such an approximation, the roles of the range and of the density
dependence of the interaction can be disentangled. The isoscalar and isovector
density-dependences derived ab-initio provide the pairing force with a strong
predictive power when extrapolated toward the drip-lines. Although finite
ranged and non local, the proposed interaction makes HFB calculations of finite
nuclei in coordinate space tractable. Through the two-basis method, its
computational cost is of the same order as for a zero-range force.Comment: 43 pages, 13 figures. Published versio
Thermosensitive polymer-grafted iron oxide nanoparticles studied by in situ dynamic light backscattering under magnetic hyperthermia
© 2015 IOP Publishing Ltd. Thermometry at the nanoscale is an emerging area fostered by intensive research on nanoparticles (NPs) that are capable of converting electromagnetic waves into heat. Recent results suggest that stationary gradients can be maintained between the surface of NPs and the bulk solvent, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as \u27cold hyperthermia\u27. However, the measurement of such highly localized temperatures is particularly challenging. We describe here a new approach to probing the temperature at the surface of iron oxide NPs and enhancing the understanding of this phenomenon. This approach involves the grafting of thermosensitive polymer chains to the NP surface followed by the measurement of macroscopic properties of the resulting NP suspension and comparison to a calibration curve built up by macroscopic heating. Superparamagnetic iron oxide NPs were prepared by the coprecipitation of ferrous and ferric salts and functionalized with amines, then azides using a sol-gel route followed by a dehydrative coupling reaction. Thermosensitive poly[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] (PDMAEMA) with an alkyne end-group was synthesized by controlled radical polymerization and was grafted using a copper assisted azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction. Measurement of the colloidal properties by dynamic light scattering (DLS) indicated that the thermosensitive NPs exhibited changes in their Zeta potential and hydrodynamic diameter as a function of pH and temperature due to the grafted PDMAEMA chains. These changes were accompanied by changes in the relaxivities of the NPs, suggesting application as thermosensitive contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In addition, a new fibre-based backscattering setup enabled positioning of the DLS remote-head as close as possible to the coil of a magnetic heating inductor to afford in situ probing of the backscattered light intensity, hydrodynamic diameter, and temperature. This approach provides a promising platform for estimating the response of magnetic NPs to application of a radiofrequency magnetic field or for understanding the behaviour of other thermogenic NPs
Augmented Lagrangian Method for Constrained Nuclear Density Functional Theory
The augmented Lagrangiam method (ALM), widely used in quantum chemistry
constrained optimization problems, is applied in the context of the nuclear
Density Functional Theory (DFT) in the self-consistent constrained Skyrme
Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (CHFB) variant. The ALM allows precise calculations of
multidimensional energy surfaces in the space of collective coordinates that
are needed to, e.g., determine fission pathways and saddle points; it improves
accuracy of computed derivatives with respect to collective variables that are
used to determine collective inertia; and is well adapted to supercomputer
applications.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures; to appear in Eur. Phys. J.
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