How atomic nuclei cluster

4 pages, 4 figures, submitted for publicationNucleonic matter displays a quantum liquid structure, but in some cases finite nuclei behave like molecules composed of clusters of protons and neutrons. Clustering is a recurrent feature in light nuclei, from beryllium to nickel. For instance, in $^{12}$C the Hoyle state, crucial for stellar nucleosynthesis, can be described as a nuclear molecule consisting of three alpha-particles. The mechanism of cluster formation, however, has not yet been fully understood. We show that the origin of clustering can be traced back to the depth of the confining nuclear potential. By employing the theoretical framework of energy density functionals that encompasses both cluster and quantum liquid-drop aspects of nuclei, it is shown that the depth of the potential determines the energy spacings between single-nucleon orbitals, the localization of the corresponding wave functions and, therefore, the degree of nucleonic density clustering. Relativistic functionals, in particular, are characterized by deep single-nucleon potentials. When compared to non-relativistic functionals that yield similar ground-state properties (binding energy, deformation, radii), they predict the occurrence of much more pronounced cluster structures. More generally, clustering is considered as a transitional phenomenon between crystalline and quantum liquid phases of fermionic systems

Coulomb energy differences in T=1 mirror rotational bands in Fe-50 and Cr-50 RID C-4732-2011

Gamma rays from the N = Z - 2 nucleus Fe-50 have been observed, establishing the rotational ground state band up to the state J(pi) = 11(+) at 6.994 MeV excitation energy. The experimental Coulomb energy differences, obtained by comparison with the isobaric analog states in its mirror Cr-50, confirm the qualitative interpretation of the backbending patterns in terms of successive alignments of proton and neutron pairs. A quantitative agreement with experiment has been achieved by exact shell model calculations, incorporating the differences in radii along the yrast bands, and properly renormalizing the Coulomb matrix elements in the pf model space

Coulomb energy differences in T=1 mirror rotational bands in Fe-50 and Cr-50 RID C-4732-2011

Gamma rays from the N = Z - 2 nucleus Fe-50 have been observed, establishing the rotational ground state band up to the state J(pi) = 11(+) at 6.994 MeV excitation energy. The experimental Coulomb energy differences, obtained by comparison with the isobaric analog states in its mirror Cr-50, confirm the qualitative interpretation of the backbending patterns in terms of successive alignments of proton and neutron pairs. A quantitative agreement with experiment has been achieved by exact shell model calculations, incorporating the differences in radii along the yrast bands, and properly renormalizing the Coulomb matrix elements in the pf model space