Microscopic calculation of 240Pu scission with a finite-range effective force

Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov calculations of hot fission in $^{240}\textrm{Pu}$ have been performed with a newly-implemented code that uses the D1S finite-range effective interaction. The hot-scission line is identified in the quadrupole-octupole-moment coordinate space. Fission-fragment shapes are extracted from the calculations. A benchmark calculation for $^{226}\textrm{Th}$ is obtained and compared to results in the literature. In addition, technical aspects of the use of HFB calculations for fission studies are examined in detail. In particular, the identification of scission configurations, the sensitivity of near-scission calculations to the choice of collective coordinates in the HFB iterations, and the formalism for the adjustment of collective-variable constraints are discussed. The power of the constraint-adjustment algorithm is illustrated with calculations near the critical scission configurations with up to seven simultaneous constraints.Comment: 18 pages, 24 figures, to be published in Physical Review

Microscopic determination of the nuclear incompressibility within the non-relativistic framework

The nuclear incompressibility $K_\infty$ is deduced from measurements of the Isoscalar Giant Monopole Resonance (ISGMR) in medium-heavy nuclei, and the resulting value turns out to be model dependent. Since the considered nuclei have neutron excess, it has been suggested that the model dependence is due to the different behaviour of the symmetry energy in different models. To clarify this issue, we make a systematic and careful analysis based on new Skyrme forces which span a wide range of values for $K_\infty$, for the value of the symmetry energy at saturation and for its density dependence. By calculating, in a fully self-consistent fashion, the ISGMR centroid energy in $^{208}$Pb we reach, for the first time within the non-relativistic framework, three important conclusions: (i) the monopole energy, and consequently the deduced value of $K_\infty$, depend on a well defined parameter related to the shape of the symmetry energy curve and called $K_{sym}$; (ii) Skyrme forces of the type of SLy4 predict $K_\infty$ around 230 MeV, in agreement with the Gogny force (previous estimates using Skyrme interactions having been plagued by lack of full self-consistency); (iii) it is possible to build forces which predict $K_\infty$ around 250 MeV, although part of this increase is due to our poor knowledge of the density dependence and effective mass.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures. Submitted to PR

Microscopic Calculation of Fission Fragment Energies for the 239Pu(nth,f) Reaction

We calculate the total kinetic and excitation energies of fragments produced in the thermal-induced fission of {sup 239}Pu. This result is a proof-of-principle demonstration for a microscopic approach to the calculation of fission-fragment observables for applied data needs. In addition, the calculations highlight the application of a fully quantum mechanical description of scission, and the importance of exploring scission configurations as a function of the moments of the fragments, rather than through global constraints on the moments of the fissioning nucleus. Using a static microscopic calculation of configurations at and near scission, we have identified fission fragments for the {sup 239}Pu (n{sub th}, f) reaction and extracted their total kinetic and excitation energies. Comparison with data shows very good overall agreement between theory and experiment. Beyond their success as a proof of principle, these calculations also highlight the importance of local constraints on the fragments themselves in microscopic calculations

A MICROSCOPIC THEORY OF LOW ENERGY FISSION: FRAGMENT PROPERTIES

Abstract not provide

Effective shell model Hamiltonians from density functional theory: quadrupolar and pairing correlations

We describe a procedure for mapping a self-consistent mean-field theory (also known as density functional theory) into a shell model Hamiltonian that includes quadrupole-quadrupole and monopole pairing interactions in a truncated space. We test our method in the deformed N=Z sd-shell nuclei Ne-20, Mg-24 and Ar-36, starting from the Hartree-Fock plus BCS approximation of the USD shell model interaction. A similar procedure is then followed using the SLy4 Skyrme energy density functional in the particle-hole channel plus a zero-range density-dependent force in the pairing channel. Using the ground-state solution of this density functional theory at the Hartree-Fock plus BCS level, an effective shell model Hamiltonian is constructed. We use this mapped Hamiltonian to extract quadrupolar and pairing correlation energies beyond the mean field approximation. The rescaling of the mass quadrupole operator in the truncated shell model space is found to be almost independent of the coupling strength used in the pairing channel of the underlying mean-field theory.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure

Probing Correlated Ground States with Microscopic Optical Model for Nucleon Scattering off Doubly-Closed-Shell Nuclei

The RPA long range correlations are known to play a significant role in understanding the depletion of single particle-hole states observed in (e, e') and (e, e'p) measurements. Here the Random Phase Approximation (RPA) theory, implemented using the D1S force is considered for the specific purpose of building correlated ground states and related one-body density matrix elements. These may be implemented and tested in a fully microscopic optical model for NA scattering off doubly-closed-shell nuclei. A method is presented to correct for the correlations overcounting inherent to the RPA formalism. One-body density matrix elements in the uncorrelated (i.e. Hartree-Fock) and correlated (i.e. RPA) ground states are then challenged in proton scattering studies based on the Melbourne microscopic optical model to highlight the role played by the RPA correlations. Effects of such correlations which deplete the nuclear matter at small radial distance (r $<$ 2 fm) and enhance its surface region, are getting more and more sizeable as the incident energy increases. Illustrations are given for proton scattering observables measured up to 201 MeV for the $^{16}$O, $^{40}$Ca, $^{48}$Ca and $^{208}$Pb target nuclei. Handling the RPA correlations systematically improves the agreement between scattering predictions and data for energies higher than 150 MeV.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figure

The microscopic theory of fission

Fission-fragment properties have been calculated for thermal neutron-induced fission on a $^{239}\textrm{Pu}$ target, using constrained Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov calculations with a finite-range effective interaction. A quantitative criterion based on the interaction energy between the nascent fragments is introduced to define the scission configurations. The validity of this criterion is benchmarked against experimental measurements of the kinetic energies and of multiplicities of neutrons emitted by the fragments.Comment: 8 page, 4 figures, to be published in Proceedings of the 4th International Workshop on Fission and Fission Product Spectroscop