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A. V. Afanasjev

Publications and source records attributed to A. V. Afanasjev.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Time-odd mean fields in covariant density functional theory: Rotating systems

Time-odd mean fields (nuclear magnetism) and their impact on physical observables in rotating nuclei are studied in the framework of covariant density functional theory (CDFT). It is shown that they have profound effect on the dynamic and kinematic moments of inertia. Particle number, configuration and rotational frequency dependences of their impact on the moments of inertia have been analysed in a systematic way. Nuclear magnetism can also considerably modify the band crossing features such as crossing frequencies and the properties of the kinematic and dynamic moments of inertia in the band crossing region. The impact of time-odd mean fields on the moments of inertia in the regions away from band crossing only weakly depends on the relativistic mean field parametrization, reflecting good localization of the properties of time-odd mean fields in CDFT. The moments of inertia of normal-deformed nuclei considerably deviate from the rigid body value. On the contrary, superdeformed and hyperdeformed nuclei have the moments of inertia which are close to rigid body value. The structure of the currents in rotating frame, their microscopic origin and the relations to the moments of inertia have been systematically analysed. The phenomenon of signature separation in odd-odd nuclei, induced by time-odd mean fields, has been analysed in detail.

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Fission barriers in actinides in covariant density functional theory: the role of triaxiality

Relativistic mean field theory allowing for triaxial deformations is applied for a systematic study of fission barriers in the actinide region. Different pairing schemes are studied in details and it is shown that covariant density functional theory is able to describe fission barriers on a level of accuracy comparable with non-relativistic calculations, even with the best phenomenological macroscopic+microscopic approaches. Triaxiality in the region of the first saddle plays a crucial role in achieving that.

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High-spin intruder band in $^{107}$In

High-spin states in the neutron deficient nucleus $^{107}$In were studied via the $^{58}$Ni($^{52}$Cr, 3p) reaction. In-beam $γ$ rays were measured using the JUROGAM detector array. A rotational cascade consisting of ten $γ$-ray transitions which decays to the 19/2$^{+}$ level at 2.002 MeV was observed. The band exhibits the features typical for smooth terminating bands which also appear in rotational bands of heavier nuclei in the A$\sim$100 region. The results are compared with Total Routhian Surface and Cranked Nilsson-Strutinsky calculations.

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Astrophysical S-factors for fusion reactions involving C, O, Ne and Mg isotopes

Using the Sao Paulo potential and the barrier penetration formalism we have calculated the astrophysical factor S(E) for 946 fusion reactions involving stable and neutron-rich isotopes of C, O, Ne, and Mg for center-of-mass energies E varying from 2 MeV to 18-30 MeV (covering the range below and above the Coulomb barrier). We have parameterized the energy dependence S(E) by an accurate universal 9-parameter analytic expression and present tables of fit parameters for all the reactions. We also discuss the reduced 3-parameter version of our fit which is highly accurate at energies below the Coulomb barrier, and outline the procedure for calculating the reaction rates. The results can be easily converted to thermonuclear or pycnonuclear reaction rates to simulate various nuclear burning phenomena, in particular, stellar burning at high temperatures and nucleosynthesis in high density environments.

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The effective force NL3 revisited

Covariant density functional theory based on the relativistic mean field (RMF) Lagrangian with the parameter set NL3 has been used in the last ten years with great success. Now we propose a modification of this parameter set, which improves the description of the ground state properties of many nuclei and simultaneously provides an excellent description of excited states with collective character in spherical as well as in deformed nuclei.

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The fission barriers in Actinides and superheavy nuclei in covariant density functional theory

The impact of pairing correlations on the fission barriers is investigated in Relativistic Hartree Bogoliubov (RHB) theory and Relativistic Mean Field (RMF)+BCS calculations. It is concluded that the constant gap approximation in the usual RMF+BCS calculations does not provide an adequate description of the barriers. The RHB calculations show that there is a substantial difference in the predicted barrier heights between zero-range and finite range pairing forces even in the case when the pairing strengths of these two forces are adjusted to the same value of the pairing gap at the ground state.

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Hyperdeformation in the cranked relativistic mean field theory: the Z=40-58 part of nuclear chart

The systematic investigation of hyperdeformation (HD) at high spin in the $Z=40-58$ part of the nuclear chart has been performed in the framework of the cranked relativistic mean field theory. The properties of the moments of inertia of the HD bands, the role of the single-particle and necking degrees of freedom at HD, the spins at which the HD bands become yrast, the possibility to observe discrete HD bands etc. are discussed in detail.

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Band terminations in density functional theory

The analysis of the terminating bands has been performed in the relativistic mean field framework. It was shown that nuclear magnetism provides an additional binding to the energies of the specific configuration and this additional binding increases with spin and has its {\it maximum} exactly at the terminating state. This suggests that the terminating states can be an interesting probe of the time-odd mean fields {\it provided that other effects can be reliably isolated.} Unfortunately, a reliable isolation of these effects is not that simple: many terms of the density functional theories contribute into the energies of the terminating states and the deficiencies in the description of those terms affect the result. The recent suggestion \cite{ZSW.05} that the relative energies of the terminating states in the $N \neq Z, A\sim 44$ mass region given by $ΔE$ {\it provide unique and reliable constraints on time-odd mean fields and the strength of spin-orbit interaction} in density functional theories has been reanalyzed. The current investigation shows that the $ΔE$ value is affected also by the relative placement of the states with different orbital angular momentum ${\it l}$, namely, the placement of the $d$ (${\it l}=2$) and $f$ (${\it l}=3$) states. This indicates the dependence of the $ΔE$ value on the properties of the central potential.

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Hyperdeformation in the Cd isotopes: a microscopic analysis

A systematics search for the nuclei in which the observation of discrete hyperdeformed (HD) bands may be feasible with existing detector facilities has been performed in the Cd isotopes within the framework of cranked relativistic mean field theory. It was found that the $^{96}$Cd nucleus is a doubly magic HD nucleus due to large proton Z=48 and neutron N=48 HD shell gaps. The best candidate for experimental search of discrete HD bands is $^{107}$Cd nucleus characterized by the large energy gap between the yrast and excited HD bands, the size of which is only 15% smaller than the one in doubly magic HD $^{96}$Cd nucleus.

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Additivity of effective quadrupole moments and angular momentum alignments in the A~130 nuclei

The additivity principle of the extreme shell model stipulates that an average value of a one-body operator be equal to the sum of the core contribution and effective contributions of valence (particle or hole) nucleons. For quadrupole moment and angular momentum operators, we test this principle for highly and superdeformed rotational bands in the A~130 nuclei. Calculations are done in the self-consistent cranked non-relativistic Hartree-Fock and relativistic Hartree mean-field approaches. Results indicate that the additivity principle is a valid concept that justifies the use of an extreme single-particle model in an unpaired regime typical of high angular momenta.

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Superheavy Nuclei: Relativistic Mean Field Outlook

The analysis of quasiparticle spectra in heaviest $A\sim 250$ nuclei with spectroscopic data provides an additional constraint for the choice of effective interaction for the description of superheavy nuclei. It strongly suggest that only the parametrizations of the relativistic mean field Lagrangian which predict Z=120 and N=172 as shell closures are reliable for superheavy nuclei. The influence of the central depression in the density distribution of spherical superheavy nuclei on the shell structure is studied. Large central depression produces large shell gaps at Z=120 and N=172. The shell gaps at Z=126 and N=184 are favored by a flat density distribution in the central part of nucleus. It is shown that approximate particle number projection (PNP) by means of the Lipkin-Nogami method removes pairing collapse seen at these gaps in the calculations without PNP.

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Central depression in nuclear density and its consequences for the shell structure of superheavy nuclei

The influence of the central depression in the density distribution of spherical superheavy nuclei on the shell structure is studied within the relativistic mean field theory. Large depression leads to the shell gaps at the proton Z=120 and neutron N=172 numbers, while flatter density distribution favors N=184 for neutrons and leads to the appearance of a Z=126 shell gap and to the decrease of the size of the Z=120 shell gap. The correlations between the magic shell gaps and the magnitude of central depression are discussed for relativistic and non-relativistic mean field theories.

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Superdeformation and hyperdeformation in the $^{108}$Cd nucleus

The superdeformation and hyperdeformation in $^{108}$Cd have been studied for the first time within the framework of the fully self-consistent cranked mean field theory, namely, cranked relativistic mean field theory. The structure of observed superdeformed bands 1 and 2 have been analyzed in detail. The bumps seen in their dynamic moments of inertia are explained as arising from unpaired band crossings. This is contrary to an explanation given earlier within the framework of projected shell model. It was also concluded that this nucleus is not doubly magic SD nucleus.

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High-spin structures as the probes of proton-neutron pairing

Rotating $N=Z$ nuclei in the mass $A=58-80$ region have been studied within the framework of isovector mean field theory. Available data is well and systematically described in the calculations. The present study supports the presence of strong isovector $np$ pair field at low spin, which is, however, destroyed at high spin. No clear evidence for the existence of the isoscalar $t=0$ $np$ pairing has been found.

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Fusion reactions in multicomponent dense matter

We analyze thermonuclear and pycnonuclear fusion reactions in dense matter containing atomic nuclei of different types. We extend a phenomenological expression for the reaction rate, proposed recently by Gasques et al. (2005) for the one-component plasma of nuclei, to the multi-component plasma. The expression contains several fit parameters which we adjust to reproduce the best microscopic calculations available in the literature. Furthermore, we show that pycnonuclear burning is drastically affected by an (unknown) structure of the multi-component matter (a regular lattice, a uniform mix, etc.). We apply the results to study nuclear burning in a carbon_12-oxygen_16 mixture. In this context we present new calculations of the astrophysical S-factors for carbon-oxygen and oxygen-oxygen fusion reactions. We show that the presence of a CO lattice can strongly suppress carbon ignition in white dwarf cores and neutron star crusts at densities > 3e9 g cm^{-3} and temperatures T<1e8 K.

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Nuclear fusion in dense matter: Reaction rate and carbon burning

In this paper we analyze the nuclear fusion rate between equal nuclei for all five different nuclear burning regimes in dense matter (two thermonuclear regimes, two pycnonuclear ones, and the intermediate regime). The rate is determined by Coulomb barrier penetration in dense environments and by the astrophysical S-factor at low energies. We evaluate previous studies of the Coulomb barrier problem and propose a simple phenomenological formula for the reaction rate which covers all cases. The parameters of this formula can be varied, taking into account current theoretical uncertainties in the reaction rate. The results are illustrated for the example of the ^{12}C+^{12}C fusion reaction. This reaction is very important for the understanding of nuclear burning in evolved stars, in exploding white dwarfs producing type Ia supernovae, and in accreting neutron stars. The S-factor at stellar energies depends on a reliable fit and extrapolation of the experimental data. We calculate the energy dependence of the S-factor using a recently developed parameter-free model for the nuclear interaction, taking into account the effects of the Pauli nonlocality. For illustration, we analyze the efficiency of carbon burning in a wide range of densities and temperatures of stellar matter with the emphasis on carbon ignition at densities rho > 10^9 g/cc.

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Description of rotating $N=Z$ nuclei in terms of isovector pairing

A systematic investigation of the rotating $N=Z$ even-even nuclei in the mass $A=58-80$ region has been performed within the frameworks of the Cranked Relativistic Mean field, Cranked Relativistic Hartree Bogoliubov theories and cranked Nilsson-Strutinsky approach. Most of the experimental data is well accounted for in the calculations. The present study suggests that there is strong isovector $np$-pair field at low spin, the strength of which is defined by the isospin symmetry. At high spin, the isovector pair field is destroyed and the data are well described by the calculations assuming zero pairing. No clear evidence for the existence of the isoscalar $t=0$ $np$-pairing has been obtained in the present investigation.

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Probing the gateway to superheavy nuclei in cranked relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov theory

The cranked relativistic Hartree+Bogoliubov theory has been applied for a systematic study of the nuclei around 254No, the heaviest nuclei for which detailed spectroscopic data are available. The deformation, rotational response, pairing correlations, quasi-particle and other properties of these nuclei have been studied with different relativistic mean field (RMF) parametrizations. For the first time, the quasi-particle spectra of odd deformed nuclei have been calculated in a fully self-consistent way within the framework of the RMF theory. The energies of the spherical subshells, from which active deformed states of these nuclei emerge, are described with an accuracy better than 0.5 MeV for most of the subshells with the NL1 and NL3 parametrizations. However, for a few subshells the discrepancy reach 0.7-1.0 MeV. The implications of these results for the study of superheavy nuclei are discussed.

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