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

Quantum Shape-Phase Transitions in Finite Nuclei

Quantum shape-phase transitions in finite nuclei are considered in the framework of the interacting boson model. Critical-point Hamiltonians for first- and second-order transitions are identified by resolving them into intrinsic and collective parts. Suitable wave functions and finite-N estimates for observables at the critical-points are derived.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, Proc. 2nd Int. Conf. on "Collective Motion in Nuclei under Extreme Conditions" (COMEX 2), June 20-23, 2006, Sankt Goar, German

Analytic descriptions for transitional nuclei near the critical point

Exact solutions of the Bohr Hamiltonian with a five-dimensional square well potential, in isolation or coupled to a fermion by the five-dimensional spin-orbit interaction, are considered as examples of a new class of dynamical symmetry or Bose-Fermi dynamical symmetry. The solutions provide baselines for experimental studies of even-even [E(5)] and odd-mass [E(5|4)] nuclei near the critical point of the spherical to deformed gamma-unstable phase transition.Comment: LaTeX (elsart), 53 pages; typographical correction to (3.15

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

Algebraic approach to vibrational spectra of tetrahedral molecules: a case study of silicon tetrafluoride

Both the stretch and bend vibrational spectrum and the intensity of infrared transitions in a tetrahedral molecule are studied in a U(2) algebraic model, where the spurious states in the model Hamiltonian and the wavefunctions are exactly removed. As an example, we apply the model to silicon tetrafluoride SiF$_4$.Comment: Revtex, 7 pages, no figure, to appear in Chem. Phys. Let

Quantum Phase Transitions in the U(5)-O(6) Large N limit

The U(5)-O(6) transitional behavior of the Interacting Boson Model in the large N limit is revisited. Some low-lying energy levels, overlaps of the ground state wavefunctions, B(E2) transition rate for the decay of the first excited energy level to the ground state, and the order parameters are calculated for different total numbers of bosons. The results show that critical behaviors of these quantities are greatly enhanced with increasing of the total number of bosons N, especially fractional occupation probability for d bosons in the ground state, the difference between the expectation value of n_d in the first excited 0^+ state and the ground state, and another quantity related to the isomer shift behave similarly in both the O(6)-U(5) large N and U(5)-SU(3) phase transitions.Comment: 7 Pages LaTeX, 3 figure

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