Phase structure of the two-fluid proton-neutron system

The phase structure of a two-fluid bosonic system is investigated. The proton-neutron interacting boson model (IBM-2) posesses a rich phase structure involving three control parameters and multiple order parameters. The surfaces of quantum phase transition between spherical, axially-symmetric deformed, and SU*(3) triaxial phases are determined.Comment: RevTeX 4, 4 pages, as published in Phys. Rev. Let

X(5) Critical-Point Structure in a Finite System

X(5) is a paradigm for the structure at the critical point of a particular first-order phase transition for which the intrinsic energy surface has two degenerate minima separated by a low barrier. For a finite system, we show that the dynamics at such a critical point can be described by an effective deformation determined by minimizing the energy surface after projection onto angular momentum zero, and combined with two-level mixing. Wave functions of a particular analytic form are used to derive estimates for energies and quadrupole rates at the critical point.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figure, 2 tables, Phys. Rev. C in pres

IBM-1 calculations towards the neutron-rich nucleus 106^{106}Zr

The neutron-rich N=66 isotonic and A=106 isobaric chains, covering regions with varying types of collectivity, are interpreted in the framework of the interacting boson model. Level energies and electric quadrupole transition probabilities are compared with available experimental information. The calculations for the known nuclei in the two chains are extrapolated towards the neutron-rich nucleus $^{106}$Zr.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, 6 tables, to be published in Phys. Rev.

Coulomb analogy for nonhermitian degeneracies near quantum phase transitions

Degeneracies near the real axis in a complex-extended parameter space of a hermitian Hamiltonian are studied. We present a method to measure distributions of such degeneracies on the Riemann sheet of a selected level and apply it in classification of quantum phase transitions. The degeneracies are shown to behave similarly as complex zeros of a partition function.Comment: 4 page

Critical point symmetries in boson-fermion systems. The case of shape transition in odd nuclei in a multi-orbit model

We investigate phase transitions in boson-fermion systems. We propose an analytically solvable model (E(5/12)) to describe odd nuclei at the critical point in the transition from the spherical to $\gamma$-unstable behaviour. In the model, a boson core described within the Bohr Hamiltonian interacts with an unpaired particle assumed to be moving in the three single particle orbitals j=1/2,3/2,5/2. Energy spectra and electromagnetic transitions at the critical point compare well with the results obtained within the Interacting Boson Fermion Model, with a boson-fermion Hamiltonian that describes the same physical situation.Comment: Phys. Rev. Lett. (in press

Exact Dynamical and Partial Symmetries

We discuss a hierarchy of broken symmetries with special emphasis on partial dynamical symmetries (PDS). The latter correspond to a situation in which a non-invariant Hamiltonian accommodates a subset of solvable eigenstates with good symmetry, while other eigenstates are mixed. We present an algorithm for constructing Hamiltonians with this property and demonstrate the relevance of the PDS notion to nuclear spectroscopy, to quantum phase transitions and to mixed systems with coexisting regularity and chaos.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, Proc. GROUP28: The XXVIII Int. Colloquium on Group-Theoretical Methods in Physics, July 26-30, 2010, Newcastle upon Tyne, U

Phase Structure of the Interacting Vector Boson Model

The two-fluid Interacting Vector Boson Model (IVBM) with the U(6) as a dynamical group possesses a rich algebraic structure of physical interesting subgroups that define its distinct exactly solvable dynamical limits. The classical images corresponding to different dynamical symmetries are obtained by means of the coherent state method. The phase structure of the IVBM is investigated and the following basic phase shapes, connected to a specific geometric configurations of the ground state, are determined: spherical, $U_{p}(3)\otimes U_{n}(3)$, $\gamma-$unstable, O(6), and axially deformed shape, $SU(3)\otimes U_{T}(2)$. The ground state quantum phase transitions between different phase shapes, corresponding to the different dynamical symmetries and mixed symmetry case, are investigated.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figure

Quantum phase transitions in Bose-Fermi systems

Quantum phase transitions in a system of N bosons with angular momentum L=0,2 (s,d) and a single fermion with angular momentum j are investigated both classically and quantum mechanically. It is shown that the presence of the odd fermion strongly influences the location and nature of the phase transition, especially the critical value of the control parameter at which the phase transition occurs. Experimental evidence for the U(5)-SU(3) (spherical to axially-deformed) transition in odd-even nuclei is presented.Comment: 38 pages, 29 figure