Structure of the inner crust of neutron stars: crystal lattice or disordered phase ?

We investigate the inner crust structure of neutron stars using the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock approach with the Coulomb interaction treated beyond the Wigner-Seitz approximation. Our results suggest that the shell effects associated with unbound neutrons play an important role and, in particular, lead to complicated phase transition pattern between various nuclear phases (as a function of the density). Namely, we show that the relative energies of different phases are rapidly oscillating functions of the neutron density. In the semiclassical approach this behavior is explained as an interference effect due to periodic orbits of similar lengths. We discuss also the dependence of the shell effects on pairing correlations.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure

Properties of nuclei in the neutron star crust

In the present study we investigate the static properties of nuclei in the inner crust of neutron stars. Using the Hartree-Fock method in coordinate space, together with the semiclassical approximation, we examine the patterns of phase transitions.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, presented at the Nuclear Many-Body Problem 2001 - NATO Advanced Research Workshop, June 1-6, Brijuni, Croatia, 200

Beyond-mean-field-model analysis of low-spin normal-deformed and superdeformed collective states of S32, Ar36, Ar38 and Ca40

We investigate the coexistence of spherical, deformed and superdeformed states at low spin in S32, Ar36, Ar38 and Ca40. The microscopic states are constructed by configuration mixing of BCS states projected on good particle number and angular momentum. The BCS states are themselves obtained from Hartree-Fock BCS calculations using the Skyrme interaction SLy6 for the particle-hole channel, and a density-dependent contact force in the pairing channel. The same interaction is used within the Generator Coordinate Method to determine the configuration mixing and calculate the properties of even-spin states with positive parity. Our calculations underestimate moments of inertia. Nevertheless, for the four nuclei, the global structural properties of the states of normal deformation as well as the recently discovered superdeformed bands up to spin 6 are correctly reproduced with regard to both the energies and the transition rates.Comment: 14 pages revtex4, 15 eps figures, 8 table

Solution of the Skyrme HF+BCS equation on a 3D mesh. II. A new version of the Ev8 code

We describe a new version of the EV8 code that solves the nuclear Skyrme-Hartree-Fock+BCS problem using a 3-dimensional cartesian mesh. Several new features have been implemented with respect to the earlier version published in 2005. In particular, the numerical accuracy has been improved for a given mesh size by (i) implementing a new solver to determine the Coulomb potential for protons (ii) implementing a more precise method to calculate the derivatives on a mesh that had already been implemented earlier in our beyond-mean-field codes. The code has been made very flexible to enable the use of a large variety of Skyrme energy density functionals that have been introduced in the last years. Finally, the treatment of the constraints that can be introduced in the mean-field equations has been improved. The code Ev8 is today the tool of choice to study the variation of the energy of a nucleus from its ground state to very elongated or triaxial deformations with a well-controlled accuracy.Comment: 24 pages, 3 figure

Nuclear tetrahedral configurations at spin zero

The possibility of the existence of stable tetrahedral deformations at spin zero is investigated using the Skyrme-HFBCS approach and the generator coordinate method (GCM). The study is limited to nuclei in which the tetrahedral mode has been predicted to be favored on the basis of non self-consistent models. Our results indicate that a clear identification of tetrahedral deformations is unlikely as they are strongly mixed with the axial octupole mode. However, the excitation energies related to the tetrahedral mode are systematically lower than those of the axial octupole mode in all the nuclei included in this study.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Superdeformed Bands of Odd Nuclei in A=190 Region in the Quasiparticle Picture

We study the properties of the superdeformed (SD) bands of 195Pb and 193Hg by the cranked Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov method. Our calculations reproduce the flat behavior of the dynamical moment of inertia of two of the SD bands of 195Pb measured recently. We discuss possible configuration assignments for the observed bands 3 and 4 of 195Pb. We also calculate the two interacting SD bands of 193Hg. Our analysis confirms the superiority of a density-dependent pairing force over a seniority pairing interaction.Comment: 12 pages, 5 Postscript figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.

Quantum fluctuations and stability of tetrahedral deformations in atomic nuclei

The possible existence of stable axial octupole and tetrahedral deformations is investigated in $^{80}$Zr and $^{98}$Zr. HFBCS calculations with parity projection have been performed for various parametrizations of the Skyrme energy functional. The correlation and excitation energies of negative parity states associated with shape fluctuations have been obtained using the generator coordinate method (GCM). The results indicate that in these nuclei both the axial octupole and tetrahedral deformations are of dynamic character and possess similar characteristics. Various Skyrme forces give consistent results as a function of these two octupole degrees of freedom both at the mean-field level as well as for configuration mixing calculations.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, submitted to IJMP

Beyond-mean-field study of the possible "bubble" structure of 34Si

Recent self-consistent mean-field calculations predict a substantial depletion of the proton density in the interior of 34Si. In the present study, we investigate how correlations beyond the mean field modify this finding. The framework of the calculation is a particle-number and angular-momentum projected Generator Coordinate Method based on Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov+Lipkin-Nogami states with axial quadrupole deformation. The parametrization SLy4 of the Skyrme energy density functional is used together with a density-dependent pairing energy functional. For the first time, the generator coordinate method is applied to the calculation of charge and transition densities. The impact of pairing correlations, symmetry restorations and shape mixing on the density profile is analyzed step by step. All these effects significantly alter the radial density profile, and tend to bring it closer to a Fermi-type density distribution.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure