Linear response theory in the continuum for deformed nuclei: Green's function vs. time-dependent Hartree-Fock with the absorbing-boundary condition

The continuum random-phase approximation is extended to the one applicable to deformed nuclei. We propose two different approaches. One is based on the use of the three dimensional (3D) Green's function and the other is the small-amplitude TDHF with the absorbing-boundary condition. Both methods are based on the 3D Cartesian grid representation and applicable to systems without any symmetry on nuclear shape. The accuracy and identity of these two methods are examined with the BKN interaction. Using the full Skyrme energy functional in the small-amplitude TDHF approach, we study the isovector giant dipole states in the continuum for O-16 and for even-even Be isotopes.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figure

Nuclear Excitations Described by Randomly Selected Multiple Slater Determinants

We propose a new stochastic method to describe low-lying excited states of finite nuclei superposing multiple Slater determinants without assuming generator coordinates a priori. We examine accuracy of our method by using simple BKN interaction.Comment: Talk at International Symposium on Correlation Dynamics in Nuclei, Tokyo, Japan, 31 Jan.-- 4 Feb. 200

Continuum QRPA response for deformed neutron-rich nuclei

We discuss properties of the quadrupole collective excitation of the deformed neutron-rich nucleus $^{38}$Mg within the framework of quasi-particle random phase approximation (QRPA). We first solve the coupled-channels equations to obtain the single-particle levels, and construct the ground state by treating the pairing correlations in the BCS approximation. We then solve the QRPA equation using the response function formalism, by including the continuum spectra with the box dicscretization method. We show that the collectivity of the gamma vibration (the lowest $K^\pi=2^+$ mode) is significantly enhanced if protons and neutrons have different deformations. We also discuss an attempt towards full continuum QRPA calculations for deformed nuclei.Comment: 8 pages, 2 eps figures. Use espcrc1.sty. A talk given at the International Conference on Collective Motion in Nuclei Under Extreme Conditions (COMEX1), June 10 - 13, 2003, Paris, France. To be published in the proceedings (Nucl. Phys. A

Microscopic Structure of High-Spin Vibrational Excitations in Superdeformed 190,192,194Hg

Microscopic RPA calculations based on the cranked shell model are performed to investigate the quadrupole and octupole correlations for excited superdeformed bands in 190Hg, 192Hg, and 194Hg. The K=2 octupole vibrations are predicted to be the lowest excitation modes at zero rotational frequency. At finite frequency, however, the interplay between rotation and vibrations produces different effects depending on neutron number: The lowest octupole phonon is rotationally aligned in 190Hg, is crossed by the aligned two-quasiparticle bands in 192Hg, and retains the K=2 octupole vibrational character up to the highest frequency in 194Hg. The gamma vibrations are predicted to be higher in energy and less collective than the octupole vibrations. From a comparison with the experimental dynamic moments of inertia, a new interpretation of the observed excited bands invoking the K=2 octupole vibrations is proposed, which suggests those octupole vibrations may be prevalent in SD Hg nuclei.Comment: 22 pages, REVTeX, 12 postscript figures are available on reques

Nuclear charge-exchange excitations in localized covariant density functional theory

The recent progress in the studies of nuclear charge-exchange excitations with localized covariant density functional theory is briefly presented, by taking the fine structure of spin-dipole excitations in 16O as an example. It is shown that the constraints introduced by the Fock terms of the relativistic Hartree-Fock scheme into the particle-hole residual interactions are straightforward and robust.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, Proceedings of INPC2013, Florence, Italy, 2-7 June 201

Self-consistent calculation of nuclear photoabsorption cross section: Finite amplitude method with Skyrme functionals in the three-dimensional real space

The finite amplitude method (FAM), which we have recently proposed (T. Nakatsukasa, T. Inakura, and K. Yabana, Phys. Rev. C 76, 024318 (2007)), simplifies significantly the fully self-consistent RPA calculation. Employing the FAM, we are conducting systematic, fully self-consistent response calculations for a wide mass region. This paper is intended to present a computational scheme to be used in the systematic investigation and to show the performance of the FAM for a realistic Skyrme energy functional. We implemented the method in the mixed representation in which the forward and backward RPA amplitudes are represented by indices of single-particle orbitals for occupied states and the spatial grid points for unoccupied states. We solve the linear response equation for a given frequency. The equation is a linear algebraic problem with a sparse non-hermitian matrix, which is solved with an iterative method. We show results of the dipole response for selected spherical and deformed nuclei. The peak energies of the giant dipole resonance agree well with measurements for heavy nuclei, while they are systematically underestimated for light nuclei. We also discuss the width of the giant dipole resonance in the fully self-consistent RPA calculation.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure

Cytosolic chaperones influence the fate of a toxin dislocated from the endoplasmic reticulum

The plant cytotoxin ricin enters target mammalian cells by receptor-mediated endocytosis and undergoes retrograde transport to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Here, its catalytic A chain (RTA) is reductively separated from the cell-binding B chain, and free RTA enters the cytosol where it inactivates ribosomes. Cytosolic entry requires unfolding of RTA and dislocation across the ER membrane such that it arrives in the cytosol in a vulnerable, nonnative conformation. Clearly, for such a dislocated toxin to become active, it must avoid degradation and fold to a catalytic conformation. Here, we show that, in vitro, Hsc70 prevents aggregation of heat-treated RTA, and that RTA catalytic activity is recovered after chaperone treatment. A combination of pharmacological inhibition and cochaperone expression reveals that, in vivo, cytosolic RTA is scrutinized sequentially by the Hsc70 and Hsp90 cytosolic chaperone machineries, and that its eventual fate is determined by the balance of activities of cochaperones that regulate Hsc70 and Hsp90 functions. Cytotoxic activity follows Hsc70-mediated escape of RTA from an otherwise destructive pathway facilitated by Hsp90. We demonstrate a role for cytosolic chaperones, proteins typically associated with folding nascent proteins, assembling multimolecular protein complexes and degrading cytosolic and stalled, cotranslocational clients, in a toxin triage, in which both toxin folding and degradation are initiated from chaperone-bound states

Cytosolic chaperones influence the fate of a toxin dislocated from the endoplasmic reticulum

The plant cytotoxin ricin enters target mammalian cells by receptor-mediated endocytosis and undergoes retrograde transport to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Here, its catalytic A chain (RTA) is reductively separated from the cell-binding B chain, and free RTA enters the cytosol where it inactivates ribosomes. Cytosolic entry requires unfolding of RTA and dislocation across the ER membrane such that it arrives in the cytosol in a vulnerable, nonnative conformation. Clearly, for such a dislocated toxin to become active, it must avoid degradation and fold to a catalytic conformation. Here, we show that, in vitro, Hsc70 prevents aggregation of heat-treated RTA, and that RTA catalytic activity is recovered after chaperone treatment. A combination of pharmacological inhibition and cochaperone expression reveals that, in vivo, cytosolic RTA is scrutinized sequentially by the Hsc70 and Hsp90 cytosolic chaperone machineries, and that its eventual fate is determined by the balance of activities of cochaperones that regulate Hsc70 and Hsp90 functions. Cytotoxic activity follows Hsc70-mediated escape of RTA from an otherwise destructive pathway facilitated by Hsp90. We demonstrate a role for cytosolic chaperones, proteins typically associated with folding nascent proteins, assembling multimolecular protein complexes and degrading cytosolic and stalled, cotranslocational clients, in a toxin triage, in which both toxin folding and degradation are initiated from chaperone-bound states

RPA calculations with Gaussian expansion method

The Gaussian expansion method (GEM) is extensively applied to the calculations in the random-phase approximation (RPA). We adopt the mass-independent basis-set that has been tested in the mean-field calculations. By comparing the RPA results with those obtained by several other available methods for Ca isotopes, using a density-dependent contact interaction and the Woods-Saxon single-particle states, we confirm that energies, transition strengths and widths of their distribution are described by the GEM bases to good precision, for the $1^-$, $2^+$ and $3^-$ collective states. The GEM is then applied to the self-consistent RPA calculations with the finite-range Gogny D1S interaction. The spurious center-of-mass motion is well separated from the physical states in the $E1$ response, and the energy-weighted sum rules for the isoscalar transitions are fulfilled reasonably well. Properties of low-energy transitions in $^{60}$Ca are argued in some detail.Comment: 30 pages including 12 figure