Microscopic description of the pygmy and giant electric dipole resonances in stable Ca isotopes

Abstract

The properties of the pygmy (PDR) and giant dipole resonance (GDR)in the stable $^{40}Ca$,$^{44}Ca$ and $^{48}Ca$ isotopes have been calculated within the \emph{Extended Theory of Finite Fermi Systems}(ETFFS). This approach is based on the random phase approximation (RPA) and includes the single particle continuum as well as the coupling to low-lying collectives states which are considered in a consistent microscopic way. For $^{44}Ca$ we also include pairing correlations. We obtain good agreement with the experimental data for the gross properties of both resonances. It is demonstrated that the recently measured A-dependence of the strength of the PDR below 10 MeV is well understood in our model:due to the phonon coupling some of the strength in $^{48}Ca$ is simply shifted beyond 10 MeV. The predicted fragmentation of the PDR can be investigated in $(e,e')$ and $(γ,γ')$ experiments. Whereas the isovector dipole strength of the PDR is small in all Ca isotopes, we find in this region surprisingly strong isoscalar dipole states, in agreement with an $(α,α'γ)$ experiment. We conclude that for the detailed understanding of the structure of excited nuclei e.g. the PDR and GDR an approach like the present one is absolutely necessary.