arXiv subjects

B. K. Agrawal

Publications and source records attributed to B. K. Agrawal.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2014

Thermal properties of the nuclear surface

The thermal evolution of a few thermodynamic properties of the nuclear surface like its thermodynamic potential energy, entropy and the symmetry free energy are examined for both semi-infinite nuclear matter and finite nuclei. The Thomas-Fermi model is employed. Three Skyrme interactions, namely, SkM$^*$, SLy4 and SK255 are used for the calculations to gauge the dependence of the nuclear surface properties on the energy density functionals. For finite nuclei, the surface observables are computed from a global liquid-drop inspired fit of the energies and free energies of a host of nuclei covering the entire periodic table. The hot nuclear system is modelled in a subtracted Thomas-Fermi framework. Compared to semi-infinite nuclear matter, substantial changes in the surface symmetry energy of finite nuclei are indicated; surface thermodynamic potential energies for the two systems are, however, not too different. Analytic expressions to fit the temperature and asymmetry dependence of the surface thermodynamic potential of semi-infinite nuclear matter and the temperature dependence of the surface free energy of finite nuclei are given.

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arXiv2013

Symmetry energy of warm nuclear systems

The temperature dependence of the symmetry energy and symmetry free energy coefficients of infinite nuclear matter and of finite nuclei is investigated. For infinite matter, both these coefficients are found to have a weaker dependence on temperature at densities close to saturation; at low but homogeneous densities, the temperature dependence becomes stronger. For finite systems, different definitions of symmetry energy coefficients are encountered in the literature yielding different values. A resolution to this problem is suggested from a global liquid-drop-inspired fit of the energies and free energies of a host of nuclei covering the entire periodic table. The hot nucleus is modeled in a subtracted finite-temperature-Thomas-Fermi framework, with dynamical surface phonon coupling to nucleonic motion plugged in. Contrary to infinite nuclear matter, a substantial change in the symmetry energy coefficients is observed for finite nuclei with temperature.

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arXiv2013

Electric Dipole Polarizability in ${}^{208}$Pb: insights from the Droplet Model

We study the electric dipole polarizability $α_D$ in ${}^{208}$Pb based on the predictions of a large and representative set of relativistic and non-relativistic nuclear mean field models. We adopt the droplet model as a guide to better understand the correlations between $α_D$ and other isovector observables. Insights from the droplet model suggest that the product of $α_D$ and the nuclear symmetry energy at saturation density $J$ is much better correlated with the neutron skin thickness $Δr_{np}$ of ${}^{208}$Pb than the polarizability alone. Correlations of $α_D J$ with $Δr_{np}$ and with the symmetry energy slope parameter $L$ suggest that $α_D J$ is a strong isovector indicator. Hence, we explore the possibility of constraining the isovector sector of thenuclear energy density functional by comparing our theoretical predictions against measurements of both $α_D$ and the parity-violating asymmetry in ${}^{208}$Pb. We find that the recent experimental determination of $α_D$ in ${}^{208}$Pb in combination with the range for the symmetry energy at saturation density $J=[31\pm (2)_{\rm est.}]$\,MeV suggests $Δr_{np}({}^{208}{\rm Pb}) = 0.165 \pm (0.009)_{\rm exp.} \pm (0.013)_{\rm theo.} \pm (0.021)_{\rm est.} {\rm fm}$ and $L= 43 \pm(6)_{\rm exp.} \pm (8)_{\rm theo.}\pm(12)_{\rm est.}$ MeV.

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arXiv2013

Information content of the weak-charge form factor

Parity-violating electron scattering provides a model-independent determination of the nuclear weak-charge form factor that has widespread implications across such diverse areas as fundamental symmetries, nuclear structure, heavy-ion collisions, and neutron-star structure. We assess the impact of precise measurements of the weak-charge form factor of ${}^{48}$Ca and ${}^{208}$Pb on a variety of nuclear observables, such as the neutron skin and the electric-dipole polarizability. We use the nuclear Density Functional Theory with several accurately calibrated non-relativistic and relativistic energy density functionals. To assess the degree of correlation between nuclear observables and to explore systematic and statistical uncertainties on theoretical predictions, we employ the chi-square statistical covariance technique. We find a strong correlation between the weak-charge form factor and the neutron radius, that allows for an accurate determination of the neutron skin of neutron-rich nuclei. We determine the optimal range of the momentum transfer $q$ that maximizes the information content of the measured weak-charge form factor and quantify the uncertainties associated with the strange quark contribution. Moreover, we confirm the role of the electric-dipole polarizability as a strong isovector indicator. Accurate measurements of the weak-charge form factor of ${}^{48}$Ca and ${}^{208}$Pb will have a profound impact on many aspects of nuclear theory and hadronic measurements of neutron skins of exotic nuclei at radioactive-beam facilities.

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arXiv2013

Nuclear Symmetry Energy: constraints from Giant Quadrupole Resonances and Parity Violating Electron Scattering

Experimental and theoretical efforts are being devoted to the study of observables that can shed light on the properties of the nuclear symmetry energy. We present our new results on the excitation energy [X. Roca-Maza et al., Phys. Rev. C 87, 034301 (2013)] and polarizability of the Isovector Giant Quadrupole Resonance (IVGQR), which has been the object of new experimental investigation [S. S. Henshaw et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 222501 (2011)]. We also present our theoretical analysis on the parity violating asymmetry at the kinematics of the Lead Radius Experiment [S. Abrahamyan et al. (PREx Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 112502 (2012)] and highlight its relation with the density dependence of the symmetry energy [X. Roca-Maza et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 252501 (2011)].

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arXiv2013

Constraining the density dependence of symmetry energy from nuclear masses

Empirically determined values of the nuclear volume and surface symmetry energy coefficients from nuclear masses are expressed in terms of density distributions of nucleons in heavy nuclei in the local density approximation. This is then used to extract the value of the symmetry energy slope parameter $L$. The density distributions in both spherical and well deformed nuclei calculated within microscopic framework with different energy density functionals give $L = 59.0 \pm 13.0$ MeV. Application of the method also helps in a precision determination of the neutron skin thickness of nuclei that are difficult to measure accurately.

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arXiv2013

Giant Quadrupole Resonances in 208Pb, the nuclear symmetry energy and the neutron skin thickness

Recent improvements in the experimental determination of properties of the Isovector Giant Quadrupole Resonance (IVGQR), as demonstrated in the A=208 mass region, may be instrumental for characterizing the isovector channel of the effective nuclear interaction. We analyze properties of the IVGQR in 208Pb, using both macroscopic and microscopic approaches. The microscopic method is based on families of non-relativistic and covariant Energy Density Functionals (EDF), characterized by a systematic variation of isoscalar and isovector properties of the corresponding nuclear matter equations of state. The macroscopic approach yields an explicit dependence of the nuclear symmetry energy at some subsaturation density, for instance S(ρ=0.1 fm^{-3}), or the neutron skin thickness Δr_{np} of a heavy nucleus, on the excitation energies of isoscalar and isovector GQRs. Using available data it is found that S(ρ=0.1 fm{}^{-3})=23.3 +/- 0.6 MeV. Results obtained with the microscopic framework confirm the correlation of the Δr_{np} to the isoscalar and isovector GQR energies, as predicted by the macroscopic model. By exploiting this correlation together with the experimental values for the isoscalar and isovector GQR energies, we estimate Δr_{np} = 0.14 +/- 0.03 fm for 208Pb, and the slope parameter of the symmetry energy: L = 37 +/- 18 MeV.

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arXiv2012

Determining the density content of symmetry energy and neutron skin: an empirical approach

The density dependence of nuclear symmetry energy remains poorly constrained. Starting from precise empirical values of the nuclear volume and surface symmetry energy coefficients and the nuclear saturation density, we show how in the ambit of microscopic calculations with different energy density functionals, the value of the symmetry energy slope parameter $L$ alongwith that for neutron skin can be put in tighter bounds. The value of $L$ is found to be $L$= 64$\pm $5 MeV. For $^{208}$Pb, the neutron skin thickness comes out to be 0.188 $\pm $0.014 fm. Knowing $L$, the method can be applied to predict neutron skins of other nuclei.

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arXiv2012

Sensitivity of the electric dipole polarizability to the neutron skin thickness in ${}^{208}$Pb

The static dipole polarizability, $α_{\rm D}$, in ${}^{208}$Pb has been recently measured with high-resolution via proton inelastic scattering at the Research Center for Nuclear Physics (RCNP). This observable is thought to be intimately connected with the neutron skin thickness, $r_{\rm skin}$, of the same nucleus and, more fundamentally, it is believed to be associated with the density dependence of the nuclear symmetry energy. The impact of $r_{\rm skin}$ on $α_{\rm D}$ in ${}^{208}$Pb is investigated and discussed on the basis of a large and representative set of relativistic and non-relativistic nuclear energy density functionals (EDF).

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arXiv2012

Existence of hyperons in the pulsar PSRJ1614-2230

The possibility of existence of hyperons in the recently measured $2M_\odot$ pulsar PSRJ1614-2230 is explored using a diverse set of nuclear equations of state calculated within the relativistic mean-field models. Our results indicate that the nuclear equations of state compatible with heavy-ion data allow the hyperons to exist in the PSRJ1614-2230 only for significantly larger values for the meson-hyperon coupling strengths. The maximum mass configurations for these cases contain sizable hyperon fractions ($\sim 60%$) and yet masquared their counterpart composed of only nucleonic matter.

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arXiv2012

Temperature dependence of volume and surface symmetry energy coefficients of nucle

The thermal evolution of the energies and free energies of a set of spherical and near-spherical nuclei spanning the whole periodic table are calculated in the subtracted finite-temperature Thomas- Fermi framework with the zero-range Skyrme-type KDE0 and the finite-range modified Seyler-Blanchard interaction. The calculated energies are subjected to a global fit in the spirit of the liquid-drop model. The extracted parameters in this model reflect the temperature dependence of the volume symmetry and surface symmetry coefficients of finite nuclei, in addition to that of the volume and surface energy coefficients. The temperature dependence of the surface symmetry energy is found to be very substantial whereas that of the volume symmetry energy turns out to be comparatively mild.

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arXiv2012

Optimization of relativistic mean field model for finite nuclei to neutron star matter

We have optimized the parameters of extended relativistic mean-field model using a selected set of global observables which includes binding energies and charge radii for nuclei along several isotopic and isotonic chains and the iso-scalar giant monopole resonance energies for the $^{90}$Zr and $^{208}$Pb nuclei. The model parameters are further constrained by the available informations on the energy per neutron for the dilute neutron matter and bounds on the equations of state of the symmetric and asymmetric nuclear matter at supra-nuclear densities. Two new parameter sets BSP and IUFSU* are obtained, later one being the variant of recently proposed IUFSU parameter set. The BSP parametrization uses the contributions from the quartic order cross-coupling between $ω$ and $σ$ mesons to model the high density behaviour of the equation of state instead of the $ω$ meson self-coupling as in the case of IUFSU* or IUFSU. Our parameter sets yield appreciable improvements in the binding energy systematics and the equation of state for the dilute neutron matter. The importance of the quartic order $ω-σ$ cross coupling term of the extended RMF model, as often ignored, is realized.

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arXiv2012

Electric dipole polarizability and the neutron skin

The recent high-resolution measurement of the electric dipole (E1) polarizability (alphad) in 208Pb [Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 062502 (2011)] provides a unique constraint on the neutron-skin thickness of this nucleus. The neutron-skin thickness (rskin) of 208Pb is a quantity of critical importance for our understanding of a variety of nuclear and astrophysical phenomena. To assess the model dependence of the correlation between alphad and rskin, we carry out systematic calculations for 208Pb, 132Sn, and 48Ca based on the nuclear density functional theory (DFT) using both non-relativistic and relativistic energy density functionals (EDFs). Our analysis indicates that whereas individual models exhibit a linear dependence between alphad and rskin, this correlation is not universal when one combines predictions from a host of different models. By averaging over these model predictions, we provide estimates with associated systematic errors for rskin and alphad for the nuclei under consideration. We conclude that precise measurements of rskin in both 48Ca and 208Pb---combined with the recent measurement of alphad---should significantly constrain the isovector sector of the nuclear energy density functional.

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arXiv2010

Energy systematics of heavy nuclei -- mean field models in comparison

We compare the systematics of binding energies computed within the standard and extended versions of the relativistic mean-field (RMF) model and the Skyrme Hartree-Fock (SHF) model. The general trends for the binding energies for super-heavy nuclei are significantly different for these models. The SHF models tend to underbind the superheavy nuclei, while, RMF models show just the opposite trend. The extended RMF model seems to provide remarkable improvements over the results obtained for the standard RMF model.

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arXiv2010

Anatomy of symmetry energy of dilute nuclear matter

The symmetry energy coefficients of dilute clusterized nuclear matter are evaluated in the $S$-matrix framework. Employing a few different definitions commonly used in the literature for uniform nuclear matter, it is seen that the different definitions lead to perceptibly different results for the symmetry coefficients for dilute nuclear matter. They are found to be higher compared to those obtained for uniform matter in the low density domain. The calculated results are in reasonable consonance with those extracted recently from experimental data.

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arXiv2010

Asymmetric nuclear matter and neutron-skin in extended relativistic mean field model

The density dependence of the symmetry energy, instrumental in understanding the behaviour of the asymmetric nuclear matter, is investigated within the extended relativistic mean field (ERMF) model which includes the contributions from the self and mixed interaction terms for the scalar-isoscalar ($σ$), vector-isoscalar ($ω$) and vector-isovector ($ρ$) mesons upto the quartic order. Each of the 26 different parameterizations of the ERMF model employed are compatible with the bulk properties of the finite nuclei. The behaviour of the symmetry energy for several parameter sets are found to be consistent with the empirical constraints on them as extracted from the analyses of the isospin diffusion data. The neutron-skin thickness in the $^{208}$Pb nucleus for these parameter sets of the ERMF model lie in the range of $\sim 0.20 - 0.24$ fm which is in harmony with the ones predicted by the Skyrme Hartree-Fock model. We also investigate the role of various mixed interaction terms which are crucial for the density dependence of the symmetry energy.

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arXiv2010

Equations of state and stability of color-superconducting quark matter cores in hybrid stars

The stable configurations of non-rotating and rotating hybrid stars composed of colour superconducting quark matter core are constructed using several equations of state (EOSs). We use a set of diverse EOSs for the nuclear matter which represents the low density phase. The EOSs at higher densities correspond to the quark matter in the colour superconducting phase and are computed within the NJL-like model for different values of the scalar diquark and vector current couplings strengths. The phase transition to the quark matter is computed by a Maxwell construction. We find that the stability of the hybrid stars are mainly governed by the behaviour of the EOSs for the colour superconducting quark matter. However the compositions of hybrid star are sensitive to the EOS of the nuclear matter. The value of the critical rotation frequency for the hybrid star depends strongly on the EOS of the nuclear matter as well as that for the colour superconducting quark matter. Our results indicate that the EOS for the colour superconducting quark matter can be obtained, by adjusting the parameters of the NJL model, to yield the stable configurations of the hybrid star having the maximum mass $\sim 1.5M_\odot$ in the non-rotating limit and the critical rotation frequency $\sim 1$ kHz.

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arXiv2009

Stable configurations of hybrid stars with colour-flavour-locked core

We construct static and mass-shedding limit sequences of hybrid stars, composed of colour flavour locked (CFL) quark matter core, for a set of equations of state (EOSs). The EOS for the hadronic matter is obtained using appropriately calibrated extended field theoretical based relativistic mean-field model. The MIT bag model is employed to compute the EOSs of the CFL quark matter for different values of the CFL gap parameter in the range of $50 - 150\text{MeV}$ with the deconfinement phase transition density ranging from $4ρ_0 - 6ρ_0$ ($ρ_0 = 0.16\text{fm}^{-3}$). We find, depending on the values of the CFL gap parameter and the deconfinement phase transition density, the sequences of stable configurations of hybrid stars either form third families of the compact stars or bifurcate from the hadronic sequence. The hybrid stars have masses $1.0 - 2.1 M_\odot$ with radii $9 - 13.5$ km. The maximum values of mass shedding limit frequency for such hybrid stars are $1 -2$ kHz. For the smaller values of the CFL gap parameter and the deconfinement phase transition density, mass-radius relationships are in harmony with those deduced by applying improved hydrogen atmosphere model to fit the high quality spectra from compact star X7 in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae. We observed for some cases that the third family of compact stars exist in the static sequence, but, disappear from the mass-shedding limit sequence. Our investigation suggests that the third family of compact stars in the mass-shedding limit sequence is more likely to appear, provided they have maximum mass in the static limit higher than their second family counterpart composed of pure hadronic matter.

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