Approximate solution of the pairing Hamiltonian in the Berggren basis

We derive the approximate solution for the pairing Hamiltonian in the Berggren ensemble of single particle states including bound, resonance and non-resonant scattering states. We show that this solution is reliable in the limit of a weak pairing interaction

Nuclear dynamics and reactions in the ab initio symmetry-adapted framework

We review the ab initio symmetry-adapted (SA) framework for determining the structure of stable and unstable nuclei, along with related electroweak, decay, and reaction processes. This framework utilizes the dominant symmetry of nuclear dynamics, the shape-related symplectic Sp(3, R) symmetry, which has been shown to emerge from first principles and to expose dominant degrees of freedom that are collective in nature, even in the lightest species or seemingly spherical states. This feature is illustrated for a broad scope of nuclei ranging from helium to titanium isotopes, enabled by recent developments of the ab initio SA no-core shell model expanded to the continuum through the use of the SA basis and that of the resonating group method. The review focuses on energies, electromagnetic transitions, quadrupole and magnetic moments, radii, form factors, and response function moments for ground-state rotational bands and giant resonances. The method also determines the structure of reaction fragments that is used to calculate decay widths and α-capture reactions for simulated X-ray burst abundance patterns, as well as nucleon–nucleus interactions for cross sections and other reaction observables

Description of 7^7Be, 7^7Li and 8^8Be nuclei within the Gamow Shell Model

In this work we study spectra of $^7$Be, $^7$Li, $^8$Be and elastic scattering cross sections $^4$He($^3$He, $^3$He)$^4$He, $^4$He($^3$H, $^3$H)$^4$He within the Gamow shell model (GSM) in the coupled-channel formulation (GSM-CC). The evolution of channel amplitudes and the alignment of the many-body state with the decay channel in the vicinity of the channel threshold is studied for selected states. The GSM-CC in multi-mass partition formulation applied to a translationally invariant Hamiltonian with an effective finite-range two-body interaction reproduce well the spectra of $^7$Be, $^7$Li, $^8$Be and elastic scattering reactions: $^4$He($^3$He, $^3$He)$^4$He, $^4$He($^3$H, $^3$H)$^4$He. Detailed analysis of the dependence of reaction channel amplitudes on the distance from the particle decay threshold allowed to demonstrate the alignment of the wave function in the vicinity of the decay threshold. This analysis also demonstrates the appearance of clustering in the GSM-CC wave function in the vicinity of the cluster decay threshold. We demonstrated that GSM formulated in the basis of reaction channels including both cluster and proton/neutron channels allows to describe both the spectra of nuclei with low-energy cluster thresholds and the low-energy elastic scattering reactions with proton, $^3$H, and $^3$He projectiles. Studying dependence of the reaction channel amplitude in a many-body state on distance from the threshold, we showed an evolution of the $^3$He, $^4$He clustering with increasing separation energy from the cluster decay threshold and demonstrated a mechanism of the alignment of many-body wave function with the decay threshold, i.e. the microscopic reorganization of the wave function in the vicinity of the cluster decay threshold which leads to the appearance of clustering in this state.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figure

Magnetic dipole γ\gamma-ray strength functions of heavy nuclei in the configuration-interaction shell model

A low-energy enhancement (LEE) has been observed in the deexcitation $\gamma$-ray strength function ($\gamma$SF) of compound nuclei. The LEE has been a subject of intense experimental and theoretical interest since its discovery, and, if the LEE persists in heavy neutron-rich nuclei, it would have significant effects on calculations of r-process nucleosynthesis. Standard configuration-interaction (CI) shell-model calculations in medium-mass nuclei have attributed the LEE to the magnetic dipole $\gamma$SF but such calculations are computationally intractable in heavy nuclei. We review a combination of beyond-mean-field many-body methods within the framework of the CI shell model that enables the calculation of $\gamma$SF in heavy nuclei, and discuss the recent theoretical identification of a LEE in the magnetic dipole $\gamma$SF of lanthanide isotopes.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

New Symmetry-Adapted ab initio Approach to Nuclear Reactions for Intermediate-mass Nuclei

With a view toward describing reactions of intermediate-mass nuclei from first principles, we present first results for the norm and Hamiltonian overlaps (kernels) for the p-α, p-16O, and p-20Ne cluster systems using realistic nucleon–nucleon interactions. This is achieved in the framework of a new ab initio approach that combines the symmetry-adapted no-core shell model (SA-NCSM) with the resonating group method (RGM). In this model, a physically relevant basis based on the SU(3) symmetry is used. The structure of the clusters is provided by the ab initio SA-NCSM, which enables the description of spatially enhanced nuclear configurations and heavier nuclei, by exploiting symmetries known to dominate in nuclei. Here, we discuss the applicability and efficacy of this approach

New Ab Initio Approach to Nuclear Reactions Based on the Symmetry-Adapted No-Core Shell Model

We present the current development of a new ab initio approach for nuclear reactions that takes advantage of SU(3) symmetry and its relevant dynamics combined with the resonating group method. In this model, the structure of the clusters is based on the ab initio symmetry-adapted no-core shell model, which enables the description of spatially enhanced nuclear configurations. We will present the formalism that involves the expression of the norm kernels in the SU(3) symmetry-adapted basis, in addition to first results for the p-(formula presented), p-(formula presented)O and p-(formula presented)Ne scattering reactions

Machine learning approach to pattern recognition in nuclear dynamics from the ab initio symmetry-adapted no-core shell model

A novel machine learning approach is used to provide further insight into atomic nuclei and to detect orderly patterns amidst a vast data of large-scale calculations. The method utilizes a neural network that is trained on ab initio results from the symmetry-adapted no-core shell model (SA-NCSM) for light nuclei. We show that the SA-NCSM, which expands ab initio applications up to medium-mass nuclei by using dominant symmetries of nuclear dynamics, can reach heavier nuclei when coupled with the machine learning approach. In particular, we find that a neural network trained on probability amplitudes for $s$-and $p$-shell nuclear wave functions not only predicts dominant configurations for heavier nuclei but in addition, when tested for the $^{20}$Ne ground state, it accurately reproduces the probability distribution. The nonnegligible configurations predicted by the network provide an important input to the SA-NCSM for reducing ultra-large model spaces to manageable sizes that can be, in turn, utilized in SA-NCSM calculations to obtain accurate observables. The neural network is capable of describing nuclear deformation and is used to track the shape evolution along the $^{20-42}$Mg isotopic chain, suggesting a shape-coexistence that is more pronounced toward the very neutron-rich isotopes. We provide first descriptions of the structure and deformation of $^{24}$Si and $^{40}$Mg of interest to x-ray burst nucleosynthesis, and even of the extremely heavy nuclei such as $^{166,168}$Er and $^{236}$U, that build upon first principles considerations.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure

Ab initio translationally invariant nucleon-nucleus optical potentials

We combine the \textit{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. The new development opens the 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.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures, to be submitted to Physical Review

Ab initio single-neutron spectroscopic overlaps in lithium isotopes

We calculate single-neutron spectroscopic overlaps for lithium isotopes in the framework of the \textit{ab initio} symmetry-adapted no-core shell model. We report the associated neutron-nucleus asymptotic normalization coefficients (ANCs) and spectroscopic factors (SFs) that are important ingredients in many reaction cross section calculations. While spectroscopic factors have been traditionally extracted from experimental cross sections, their sensitivity on the type of reactions, energy, and the underlying models point to the need for determining SF from first-principle structure considerations. As illustrative examples, we present $^6$Li+n, $^7$Li+n, and $^8$Li+n, and we show that the results are in a good agreement with those of other \textit{ab initio} methods, where available, including the quantum Monte Carlo approach. We compare ANCs and SFs to available experimentally deduced values, with a view toward expanding this study to heavier nuclei and to extracting inter-cluster effective interactions for input into analyses of existing and future experimental data.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure