arXiv subjects

Alexandros Gezerlis

Publications and source records attributed to Alexandros Gezerlis.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Quantum Monte Carlo Calculations of Light Nuclei with Fully Propagated Theoretical Uncertainties

We report on the first quantum Monte Carlo calculations of helium isotopes with fully propagated theoretical uncertainties from the interaction to the many-body observables. To achieve this, we build emulators for solutions to the Faddeev equations for the binding energy and Gamow-Teller matrix element of $^3\text{H}$, as well as for auxiliary-field diffusion Monte Carlo calculations of the $^4\text{He}$ charge radius, employing local two- and three-body interactions up to next-to-next-to-leading order in chiral effective field theory. We use these emulators to determine the posterior distributions for all low-energy couplings that appear in the interaction up to this order using Bayesian inference while accounting for theoretical uncertainties. We then build emulators for auxiliary-field diffusion Monte Carlo for helium isotopes and propagate the full posterior distributions to these systems. Our approach serves as a framework for $\textit{ab initio}$ studies of atomic nuclei with consistently treated and correlated theoretical uncertainties.

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arXiv2026

Neural Quantum States for Light Nuclei with Chiral Two- and Three-Body Interactions

Finding high-quality trial wave functions for quantum Monte Carlo calculations of light nuclei requires a strong intuition for modeling the interparticle correlations as well as large computational resources for exploring the space of variational parameters. Moreover, for systems with three-body interactions, the wave function should account for many-body effects beyond simple pairwise correlations. In this work, we design neural networks that efficiently incorporate these factors to generate expressive wave function Ansätze for light nuclei using variational Monte Carlo. Our neural-network approach for $A=3$ nuclei can capture, already at the level of variational Monte Carlo, the overwhelming majority of the ground-state energy estimated by Green's Function Monte Carlo (GFMC). It achieves a ground-state energy within $0.45\%$ of the GFMC result for $^3\mathrm{H}$ using the softest chiral interaction, representing a substantial improvement over standard variational Monte Carlo, which exhibits a $3.7\%$ deviation. The result indicates the potential of neural networks to construct effective trial wave functions for quantum Monte Carlo calculations.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2026

Interplay between Nuclear Shell Structure and Pairing around Doubly Magic $^{132}$Sn

Shell structure in finite quantum systems gives rise to sudden changes in observable properties, while pairing correlations often compete against such discontinuities. The region near the doubly magic nucleus $^{132}$Sn provides a fertile ground for testing the combined effect of shell structure and pairing. Here, we provide a novel phenomenological interpretation of existing mass data in the vicinity of the $Z=50$ and $N=82$ shell closures, which we further investigate by performing original Hartree-Fock-Bogolyubov (HFB) mean-field calculations for even-$Z$ nuclei: we find that the proton shell structure enhances an asymmetry of the neutron odd-even staggering in binding energies. We also report mass measurements of $^{137,138}$Sb, including the first experimental mass determination of $^{138}$Sb, performed using TRIUMF's Ion Trap for Atomic and Nuclear Science (TITAN). Together with existing experimental data, our results reveal an interplay between shell structure and pairing in odd-$Z$ nuclei which is more challenging to interpret phenomenologically or using HFB, thereby motivating future experimental and theoretical pairing studies in heavy neutron-rich nuclides.

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arXiv2026

Six textbook mistakes in quantum field theory

This article discusses incorrect statements appearing in textbooks on quantum field theory (QFT); some of these mistakes also appear in the research literature. The focus is not on errors made by an individual author, but on conceptual muddledness that is widespread in introductory textbooks. We start from a bare-bones summary of QFT, meant to establish the notation. We then turn to our six paradigmatic themes, in each case quoting a specific example of the textbook mistake, a summary of material that is known to experts but is frequently mishandled in introductory works, pointers to authoritative references where the relevant concept is handled properly, as well as a concise correction that rectifies any issues. The goal of this work is to warn readers of the existence of several pitfalls and thereby stop these errors from further propagating in the literature on QFT.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2026

Conformal prediction for uncertainties in the neutron star equation of state

We study uncertainties in the equation of state of neutron stars using conformal prediction as a distribution-free and model-agnostic method that provides coverage guarantees. In particular, we apply the Conformalized Quantile Regression (CQR) method to posterior samples calculated from Bayesian inference, creating reliable uncertainty bands without assuming a specific form of the underlying distribution. We first construct CQR bands as a postprocessing step to the posterior samples of neutron star mas-radius relations provided by the NMMA collaboration and to Quantum Monte Carlo calculations of pure neutron matter. In all cases, empirical coverage studies confirm the robustness of the method.

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arXiv2026

Ab initio study of the neutron and Fermi polarons on the lattice

We have used the auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo (AFQMC) many-body approach on the lattice to study the equation of state for a fermionic impurity interacting with a background sea of spin-polarized fermions. The impurity, or polaron, is an interesting system in both cold atomic and nuclear physics. Our approach is general, and we are able to straightforwardly study the polaron across these regimes. We first study the Fermi polaron at unitarity and for a wide range of scattering lengths, comparing against previous theoretical and experimental studies. We then explore the neutron polaron which has been shown to be an important constraint for nuclear physics. We have also employed the recently developed parametric matrix model to emulate AFQMC solutions to the two-body problem on the lattice, to accelerate the tuning of our lattice Hamiltonian parameters directly to two-body energies in a periodic box, following Luscher's formula. Our lattice quantum Monte Carlo results for the polaron in both a cold atomic and nuclear physics context can serve as stringent benchmarks for future theoretical and experimental research.

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arXiv2026

Evidence for Multimodal Superfluidity of Neutrons

We present theoretical and experimental evidence for a new phase of matter in neutron-rich systems that we call multimodal superfluidity. Using ab initio lattice calculations, we show that the condensate consists of coexisting s-wave pairs, p-wave pairs in entangled double pair combinations, and quartets composed of bound states of two s-wave pairs. We identify multimodal superfluidity as a general feature of single-flavor spin-1/2 fermionic systems with attractive s-wave and p-wave interactions, provided the system is stable against collapse into a dense droplet. Beyond neutrons at sub-saturation densities, we demonstrate that this phase appears in generalized attractive extended Hubbard models in one, two, and three dimensions. We elucidate the mechanism for this coexistence using self-consistent few-body Cooper models and compare with Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory. We also derive the form of the effective action and show that spin, rotational, and parity symmetries remain unbroken. Finally, we analyze experimental data to show that p-wave pair gaps and quartet gaps are present in atomic nuclei, and we discuss the consequences of this new phase for the structure and dynamics of neutron star crusts.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2026

The nucleardatapy toolkit for simple access to experimental nuclear data, astrophysical observations, and theoretical predictions

Systematic comparisons across theoretical predictions for the properties of dense matter, nuclear physics data, and astrophysical observations (also called meta-analyses) are performed. Existing predictions for symmetric nuclear and neutron matter properties are considered, and they are shown in this paper as an illustration of the present knowledge. Asymmetric matter is constructed assuming the isospin asymmetry quadratic approximation. It is employed to predict the pressure at twice saturation energy-density based only on nuclear-physics constraints, and we find it compatible with the one from the gravitational-wave community. To make our meta-analysis transparent, updated in the future, and to publicly share our results, the Python toolkit \texttt{nucleardatapy} is described and released here. Hence, this paper accompanies \texttt{nucleardatapy}, which simplifies access to nuclear-physics data, including theoretical calculations, experimental measurements, and astrophysical observations. This Python toolkit is designed to easily provide data for: i) predictions for uniform matter (from microscopic or phenomenological approaches); ii) correlation among nuclear properties induced by experimental and theoretical constraints; iii) measurements for finite nuclei (nuclear chart, charge radii, neutron skins or nuclear incompressibilities, etc.) and hypernuclei (single particle energies); and iv) astrophysical observations. This toolkit provides data in a unified format for easy comparison and provides new meta-analysis tools. It will be continuously developed, and we expect contributions from the community in our endeavor.

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arXiv2026

The 2027-2034 Vision for Nuclear Physics in Canada, with an outlook to 2041

The Canadian subatomic physics community establishes its scientific, and thus funding, priorities through periodic Long-Range Plans (LRP). The community is now putting together a new LRP, which will be in effect from 2027 through 2034, with its scope extending through 2041. As part of this process, the Canadian Institute of Nuclear Physics (CINP) has put together a strategic report, following an extensive consultation process. The report describes the broad and ambitious research program undertaken by the Canadian nuclear physics research community, both onshore and abroad, touching on key questions regarding the origin, evolution, and structure of visible matter in the universe. This document provides a grid of different Canadian nuclear physics projects undertaken now and in the future, and their associated timelines. It concludes with specific recommendations for maximizing Canadian scientific output in nuclear physics.

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arXiv2026

Conformal prediction for uncertainties in nucleon-nucleon scattering

Conformal prediction is a distribution-free and model-agnostic uncertainty-quantification method that provides finite-sample prediction intervals with guaranteed coverage. In this work, for the first time, we apply conformal-prediction to generate uncertainty bands for physical observables in nuclear physics, such as the total cross section and nucleon-nucleon phase shifts. We demonstrate the method's flexibility by considering three scenarios: (i) a pointwise model, where expansion coefficients in chiral effective field theory are treated as random variables; (ii) a Gaussian-process model for the coefficients; and (iii) phase shifts at various energies and partial waves calculated using local interactions from chiral effective field theory. In each case, conformal-prediction intervals are constructed and validated empirically. Our results show that conformal prediction provides reliable and adaptive uncertainty bands even in the presence of non-Gaussian behavior, such as skewness and heavy tails. These findings highlight conformal prediction as a robust and practical framework for quantifying theoretical uncertainties.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2025

A novel way of recasting the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer gap equations

The gap equations lie at the core of the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory, a standard tool in the description of superfluidity. As a set of non-linear integral equations, the gap equations' inherent difficulties oftentimes hinder even the crudest descriptions of superfluid states. Hard-core potentials, high-density superfluids, and coupled-channel pairing are all reasons that have historically required one to provide special treatment to the gap equations to get a solution. In this paper we present a new method for solving the gap equations that holds the promise of being an efficient universal solver that requires the minimum amount of \textit{a priori} knowledge of the targeted solutions. With theoretical evidence of exotic nuclear superfluidity posing new questions to our understanding of this fundamental property of nuclear systems, the presented method can be a valuable tool when exploring new pairing states, finite-temperature properties, or the development of sophisticated descriptions of nuclear superfludity.

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arXiv2025

Perturbative treatment of nonlocal chiral interactions in auxiliary-field diffusion Monte Carlo calculations

Nuclear many-body systems, ranging from nuclei to neutron stars, are some of the most interesting physical phenomena in our universe, and Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) approaches are among the most accurate many-body methods currently available to study them. In recent decades, interactions derived from chiral effective field theory (EFT) have been widely adopted in the study of nuclear many-body systems. One drawback of the QMC approach is the requirement that the nuclear interactions need to be local, whereas chiral EFT interactions usually contain nonlocalities. In this work, we leverage the capability of computing second-order perturbative corrections to the ground-state energy in order to develop a self-consistent approach to including nonlocal operators in QMC calculations. We investigate both the deuteron and the neutron-matter equation of state in order to show the robustness of our technique, and pave the way for future QMC calculations at higher orders in the EFT, where nonlocal operators cannot be avoided.

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arXiv2024

BCS-BEC crossover of the strongly interacting $^6$Li-$^{40}$K mixture

We present Quantum Monte Carlo calculations of the properties of a two-component mass imbalanced Fermi gas, corresponding to the $^6$Li-$^{40}$K mixture. We compute the equation of state of the unpolarized system as a function of the scattering length with particular attention paid to the unitary limit, where the effect of the effective range of the interaction is explored. We have also computed the pair distribution function and the momentum distribution over a range of interaction strengths to provide information about the structure of the system. Finally, we have computed the heavy/light quasiparticle spectrum. Our theoretical predictions, based on Quantum Monte Carlo calculations, can be tested by future experiments with ultracold fermionic gases.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2024

Auxiliary Field Quantum Monte Carlo for Dilute Neutrons on the Lattice

We employ constrained path Auxiliary Field Quantum Monte Carlo (AFQMC) in the pursuit of studying physical nuclear systems using a lattice formalism. Since AFQMC has been widely used in the study of condensed-matter systems such as the Hubbard model, we benchmark our method against published results for both one- and two-dimensional Hubbard model calculations. We then turn our attention to cold-atomic and nuclear systems. We use an onsite contact interaction that can be tuned in order to reproduce the known scattering length and effective range of a given interaction. Developing this machinery allows us to extend our calculations to study nuclear systems within a lattice formalism. We perform initial calculations for a range of nuclear systems from two- to few-body neutron systems.

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arXiv2023

Second-Order Perturbation Theory in Continuum Quantum Monte Carlo Calculations

We report on the first results for the second-order perturbation theory correction to the ground-state energy of a nuclear many-body system in a continuum quantum Monte Carlo calculation. Second-order (and higher) perturbative corrections are notoriously difficult to compute in most ab initio many-body methods, where the focus is usually on obtaining the ground-state energy. By mapping our calculation of the second-order energy correction to an evolution in imaginary time using the diffusion Monte Carlo method, we are able to calculate these nuclear corrections for the first time. After benchmarking our method in the few-body sector, we explore the effect of charge-independence-breaking terms in the nuclear Hamiltonian. We then employ that approach to investigate the many-body, perturbative, order-by-order convergence that is fundamental in modern theories of the nucleon-nucleon interaction derived from chiral effective field theory. We find cutoff-dependent perturbativeness between potentials at higher chiral order and also that the difference between leading order and next-to-leading order potentials is nonperturbative; both of these results have important implications for future nuclear many-body calculations. Our approach is quite general and promises to be of wide applicability.

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arXiv2022

Six textbook mistakes in data analysis

This article discusses a number of incorrect statements appearing in textbooks on data analysis, machine learning, or computational methods; the common theme in all these cases is the relevance and application of statistics to the study of scientific or engineering data; these mistakes are also quite prevalent in the research literature. Crucially, we do not address errors made by an individual author, focusing instead on mistakes that are widespread in the introductory literature. After some background on frequentist and Bayesian linear regression, we turn to our six paradigmatic cases, providing in each instance a specific example of the textbook mistake, pointers to the specialist literature where the topic is handled properly, along with a correction that summarizes the salient points. The mistakes (and corrections) are broadly relevant to any technical setting where statistical techniques are used to draw practical conclusions, ranging from topics introduced in an elementary course on experimental measurements all the way to more involved approaches to regression.

physics.data-an↗

arXiv2022

Skyrme-based extrapolation for the static response of neutron matter

The study of inhomogeneous neutron matter can provide insights into the structure of neutron stars as well as their dynamics in neutron-star mergers. In this work we tackle pure neutron matter in the presence of a periodic external field by considering a finite (but potentially large) number of particles placed in periodic boundary conditions. We start with the simpler setting of a noninteracting gas and then switch to a Skyrme-Hartree-Fock approach, showing static-response results for five distinct Skyrme parametrizations. We explain both the technical details of our computational approach, as well as the significance of these results as a general finite-size extrapolation scheme that may be used by ab initio practitioners to approach the static-response problem of neutron matter in the thermodynamic limit.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2021

Machine-learning approach to finite-size effects in systems with strongly interacting fermions

We investigate the applicability of machine learning techniques in studying the finite-size effects associated with many-body physics. These techniques have an emerging presence in many-body theory as they have been used for interpolations, extrapolations, and in modeling wavefunctions. We will resolve several issues associated with machine learning and many-body calculations such as small datasets, outliers, and discontinuities, for the purpose of extrapolating finite calculations to macroscopic scales. We carry out a systematic investigation of two related systems by developing metrics that aim to avoid spurious effects and capture desired features. This work uses neural networks to extrapolate the Unitary Gas to the thermodynamic limit at zero-range, which is otherwise difficult to reach. The effective mass of strongly interacting neutron matter is also studied and makes use of the non-interacting problem to resolve discontinuous predictions. For this investigation, we also carried out new Auxiliary Field Diffusion Monte Carlo (AFDMC) calculations for a variety of densities and particle numbers. Ultimately, we demonstrate an effective utility for neural networks in this context.

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