arXiv subjects

Baishan Hu

Publications and source records attributed to Baishan Hu.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Full configuration interaction quantum Monte Carlo for accurate $\textit{ab initio}$ nuclear structure calculations: algorithms and calculation details

Full configuration interaction quantum Monte Carlo (FCIQMC) is a stochastic many-body solver that has been widely applied to electronic, molecular, and condensed-matter systems. In this work we apply FCIQMC to $\textit{ab initio}$ nuclear structure calculations using interactions derived from chiral effective field theory. We describe the algorithm in detail, including imaginary-time propagation, excitation generation, estimator choices, the initiator approximation with adaptive shift correction, and reduced-density-matrix (RDM) sampling. Benchmark calculations in small model spaces, where deterministic full configuration interaction (FCI) results are available, validate the stochastic calculation of energies, radii, and RDM-based pure estimators. For large model spaces, we analyze the residual finite-walker bias through systematic walker-number convergence and infinite-walker extrapolations. We also demonstrate that FCIQMC can be extended beyond ground-state calculations by computing the low-lying spectrum of $^6$Li.

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arXiv2026

Full Configuration Interaction Quantum Monte Carlo for Accurate $\textit{Ab Initio}$ Nuclear Structure Calculations

We introduce novel full configuration interaction quantum Monte Carlo (FCIQMC) as an accurate many-body solver for $\textit{ab initio}$ nuclear structure calculations. This stochastic approach directly samples the exact wave function in the full configuration space, enabling high-fidelity treatment of high-order many-body correlations in strongly interacting nuclear systems. Using interactions from chiral effective field theory, we have computed ground-state energies and charge radii of $^4$He, $^8$Be, $^{12}$C and $^{16}$O with sub-percent-level many-body uncertainties. These results establish FCIQMC as a stochastic full-configuration-space solver capable of treating systems beyond the reach of the conventional no-core shell model, and as an accurate benchmark for truncated many-body expansion methods.

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arXiv2026

Dark Matter-Induced Nuclear De-Excitation at SBND with Ab Initio Nuclear Theory

We explore the sensitivity of the Short-Baseline Near Detector (SBND) experiment to light dark matter using MeV-scale electromagnetic activity. Inelastic scattering of dark matter with argon nuclei can excite nuclear states that subsequently de-excite via the emission of MeV-scale photons, producing localized low-energy "blip" signatures in a liquid argon time projection chamber. We perform state-of-the-art ab initio nuclear calculations, including all relevant argon excited states with energies up to 18 MeV, to provide reliable predictions for these signals. After accounting for relevant backgrounds, we find that SBND can probe previously unexplored regions of parameter space for light dark matter.

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arXiv2024

High-precision mass measurements of neutron deficient silver isotopes probe the robustness of the $N$ = 50 shell closure

High-precision mass measurements of exotic $^{95-97}$Ag isotopes close to the $N = Z$ line have been conducted with the JYFLTRAP double Penning trap mass spectrometer, with the silver ions produced using the recently commissioned inductively-heated hot cavity catcher laser ion source at the Ion Guide Isotope Separator On-Line facility. The atomic mass of $^{95}$Ag was directly determined for the first time. In addition, the atomic masses of $β$-decaying 2$^+$ and 8$^+$ states in $^{96}$Ag have been identified and measured for the first time, and the precision of the $^{97}$Ag mass has been improved. The newly measured masses, with a precision of $\approx$ 1 keV/c$^2$, have been used to investigate the $N =$ 50 neutron shell closure confirming it to be robust. Empirical shell-gap and pairing energies determined with the new ground-state mass data are compared with the state-of-the-art \textit{ab initio} calculations with various chiral effective field theory Hamiltonians. The precise determination of the excitation energy of the $^{96m}$Ag isomer in particular serves as a benchmark for \textit{ab initio} predictions of nuclear properties beyond the ground state, specifically for odd-odd nuclei situated in proximity to the proton dripline below $^{100}$Sn. In addition, density functional theory (DFT) calculations and configuration-interaction shell-model (CISM) calculations are compared with the experimental results. All theoretical approaches face challenges to reproduce the trend of nuclear ground-state properties in the silver isotopic chain across the $N =$50 neutron shell and toward the proton drip-line.

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arXiv2022

Ab initio predictions link the neutron skin of ${}^{208}$Pb to nuclear forces

Heavy atomic nuclei have an excess of neutrons over protons, which leads to the formation of a neutron skin whose thickness is sensitive to details of the nuclear force. This links atomic nuclei to properties of neutron stars, thereby relating objects that differ in size by orders of magnitude. The nucleus ${}^{208}$Pb is of particular interest because it exhibits a simple structure and is experimentally accessible. However, computing such a heavy nucleus has been out of reach for ab initio theory. By combining advances in quantum many-body methods, statistical tools, and emulator technology, we make quantitative predictions for the properties of ${}^{208}$Pb starting from nuclear forces that are consistent with symmetries of low-energy quantum chromodynamics. We explore $10^9$ different nuclear-force parameterisations via history matching, confront them with data in select light nuclei, and arrive at an importance-weighted ensemble of interactions. We accurately reproduce bulk properties of ${}^{208}$Pb and determine the neutron skin thickness, which is smaller and more precise than a recent extraction from parity-violating electron scattering but in agreement with other experimental probes. This work demonstrates how realistic two- and three-nucleon forces act in a heavy nucleus and allows us to make quantitative predictions across the nuclear landscape.

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arXiv2020

From bound states to the continuum

This white paper reports on the discussions of the 2018 Facility for Rare Isotope Beams Theory Alliance (FRIB-TA) topical program "From bound states to the continuum: Connecting bound state calculations with scattering and reaction theory". One of the biggest and most important frontiers in nuclear theory today is to construct better and stronger bridges between bound state calculations and calculations in the continuum, especially scattering and reaction theory, as well as teasing out the influence of the continuum on states near threshold. This is particularly challenging as many-body structure calculations typically use a bound state basis, while reaction calculations more commonly utilize few-body continuum approaches. The many-body bound state and few-body continuum methods use different language and emphasize different properties. To build better foundations for these bridges, we present an overview of several bound state and continuum methods and, where possible, point to current and possible future connections.

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arXiv2018

Gogny-force derived effective shell-model Hamiltonian

The density-dependent finite-range Gogny force has been used to derive the effective Hamiltonian for the shell-model calculations of nuclei. The density dependence simulates an equivalent three-body force, while the finite range gives a Gaussian distribution of the interaction in the momentum space and hence leads to an automatic smooth decoupling between low-momentum and high-momentum components of the interaction, which is important for finite-space shell-model calculations. Two-body interaction matrix elements, single-particle energies and the core energy of the shell model can be determined by the unified Gogny force. The analytical form of the Gogny force is advantageous to treat cross-shell cases, while it is difficult to determine the cross-shell matrix elements and single-particle energies using an empirical Hamiltonian by fitting experimental data with a large number of matrix elements. In this paper, we have applied the Gogny-force effective shell-model Hamiltonian to the ${\it p}$- and ${\it sd}$-shell nuclei. The results show good agreements with experimental data and other calculations using empirical Hamiltonians. The experimentally-known neutron drip line of oxygen isotopes and the ground states of typical nuclei $^{10}$B and $^{18}$N can be reproduced, in which the role of three-body force is non-negligible. The Gogny-force derived effective Hamiltonian has also been applied to the cross-shell calculations of the ${\it sd}$-${\it pf}$ shell.

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arXiv2016

$\it{Ab}$ $\it{initio}$ nuclear many-body perturbation calculations in the Hartree-Fock basis

Starting from realistic nuclear forces, the chiral N$^3$LO and JISP16, we have applied many-body perturbation theory (MBPT) to the structure of closed-shell nuclei, $^4$He and $^{16}$O. The two-body N$^3$LO interaction is softened by a similarity renormalization group transformation while JISP16 is adopted without renormalization. The MBPT calculations are performed within the Hartree-Fock (HF) bases. The angular momentum coupled scheme is used, which can reduce the computational task. Corrections up to the third order in energy and up to the second order in radius are evaluated. Higher-order corrections in the HF basis are small relative to the leading-order perturbative result. Using the anti-symmetrized Goldstone diagram expansions of the wave function, we directly correct the one-body density for the calculation of the radius, rather than calculate corrections to the occupation propabilities of single-particle orbits as found in other treatments. We compare our results with other methods where available and find good agreement. This supports the conclusion that our methods produce reasonably converged results with these interactions. We also compare our results with experimental data.

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