arXiv subjects

Cédric Simenel

Publications and source records attributed to Cédric Simenel.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Nuclear Quantum Many-Body Dynamics: From Collective Vibrations to Heavy-Ion Collisions (2nd edition)

New edition of the review [EPJA 48, (2012) 152]. The increase in computational power has naturally led to new applications of mean-field (and beyond) methods. This is particularly the case of quasi-fission reactions. Since the first edition, significant progress has also been made in treating pairing correlations dynamically, leading to realistic applications in multi-nucleon transfer, fusion and fission reactions. A new section has been added on fission dynamics. A summary of recent researches on nuclear dynamics with realistic microscopic quantum approaches is presented. The Balian-Veneroni variational principle is used to derive the time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) equation describing the dynamics at the mean-field level, as well as an extension including small-amplitude quantum fluctuations which is equivalent to the time-dependent random-phase approximation (TDRPA). Such formalisms as well as their practical implementation in the nuclear physics framework with modern three-dimensional codes are discussed. Recent applications to nuclear dynamics, from collective vibrations to heavy-ion collisions are presented. A particular attention is devoted to the interplay between collective motions and internal degrees of freedom. For instance, the harmonic nature of collective vibrations is questioned. Large amplitude collective motions are investigated in the framework of heavy-ion collisions and fission. How fusion is affected by the internal structure of the collision partners, such as their deformation, is discussed. Other mechanisms in competition with fusion, and responsible for the formation of fragments which differ from the entrance channel (transfer reactions, deep-inelastic collisions, and quasi-fission) are investigated. Finally, studies of actinide collisions forming, during very short times of few zeptoseconds, the heaviest nuclear systems available on Earth, are presented.

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arXiv2023

Symmetry breaking and restoration on a fermionic quantum ring

Background: The Hartree-Fock mean-field approximation is standard in combination with energy density functionals (EDF) that account for some dynamical correlations. Breaking and restoring the symmetries of the system allow for the inclusion of additional static correlations. However, exact solutions to evaluate the effectiveness of these methods are rare. Purpose: To benchmark the Hartree-Fock method with broken and restored rotational symmetry in a system of identical interacting fermions on a one-dimensional quantum ring using model interactions. Method: The ground-state wave function is found using the Hartree-Fock method both with rotational invariance and with the symmetry broken at the mean-field level. Rotational symmetry is then restored with an angular momentum projection method. The ground-state energies are compared to variational Monte Carlo predictions. This is done for a range of different interactions between the particles. Results: Breaking the rotational symmetry in the Hartree-Fock mean-field brings little improvement to the ground-state energy in weakly repulsive systems or attractive systems confined on small rings. Larger improvements are found in strongly repulsive systems and attractive systems on larger rings in which the particles form a self-bound system. Symmetry restoration brought only small improvements in most cases but was able to account for most of the remaining correlation energy (after symmetry breaking) in repulsive systems. Conclusions: The effectiveness of incorporating correlations through rotational symmetry breaking followed by angular momentum projection is demonstrated for one-dimensional quantum rings using model interactions, encouraging generalisations to other symmetries, extensions to higher dimensions, as well as applications in the EDF framework.

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arXiv2023

Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov study of quantum shell effects on the path to fission in $^{180}$Hg, $^{236}$U and $^{256}$Fm

Quantum shell effects stabilising fission fragments with various shapes have been invoked as a factor determining the distribution of nucleons between the fragments at scission. Shell effects also induce asymmetric shapes in the nucleus on its way to fission well before the final fragments are (pre)formed. These shell effects are studied in fission of $^{180}$Hg, $^{236}$U and $^{256}$Fm with constrained Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov calculations using the D1S parametrisation of the Gogny interaction. Strutinsky shell energy correction and single-particle energy level density near the Fermi surface are computed. Several neutron and proton shell effects are identified as drivers towards asymmetric fission. Shell effects are also used to identify the preformation of the fragments in the later stage of fission.

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arXiv2019

On the origin of asymmetric fission of actinides

Nuclear fission of heavy (actinide) nuclei results predominantly in asymmetric mass-splits. Without quantum shells, which can give extra binding energy to these mass-asymmetric shapes, the nuclei would fission symmetrically. The strongest shell effects are in spherical nuclei, so naturally the spherical "doubly-magic" ${^{132}}$Sn nucleus (${Z=50}$ protons), was expected to play a major role. However, a systematic study of fission has shown that the heavy fragments are distributed around ${Z=52}$ to 56, indicating that ${^{132}}$Sn is not the only driver. Reconciling the strong spherical shell effects at ${Z=50}$ with the different ${Z}$ values of fission fragments observed in nature has been a longstanding puzzle. Here, we show that the final mass asymmetry of the fragments is also determined by the extra stability of octupole (pear-shaped) deformations which have been recently confirmed experimentally around $^{144}$Ba (${Z=56}$), one of very few nuclei with shell-stabilized octupole deformation. Using a modern quantum many-body model of superfluid fission dynamics, we found that heavy fission fragments are produced predominantly with ${52-56}$ protons, associated with significant octupole deformation acquired on the way to fission. These octupole shapes favouring asymmetric fission are induced by deformed shells at ${Z=52}$ and 56. In contrast, spherical "magic" nuclei are very resistant to octupole deformation, which hinders their production as fission fragments. These findings may explain surprising observations of asymmetric fission of lighter than lead nuclei.

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arXiv2019

Effect of shell structure on the fission of sub-lead nuclei

Fission of atomic nuclei often produces mass asymmetric fragments. However, the origin of this asymmetry was believed to be different in actinides and in the sub-lead region [A. Andreyev {\it et al.}, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 105}, 252502 (2010)]. It has recently been argued that quantum shell effects stabilising pear shapes of the fission fragments could explain the observed asymmetries in fission of actinides[G. Scamps and C. Simenel, Nature {\bf 564}, 382 (2018)]. This interpretation is tested in the sub-lead region using microscopic mean-field calculations of fission based on the Hartree-Fock approach with BCS pairing correlations. The evolution of the number of protons and neutrons in asymmetric fragments of mercury isotope fissions is interpreted in terms of deformed shell gaps in the fragments. A new method is proposed to investigate the dominant shell effects in the pre-fragments at scission. We conclude that the mechanisms responsible for asymmetric fissions in the sub-lead region are the same as in the actinide region, which is a strong indication of their universality.

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arXiv2019

Effect of Octupole correlations on Fission of Light Nuclei

Fission of $^{180}$Hg produces mass asymmetric fragments which are expected to be influenced by deformed shell-effects at N=56 in the heavy fragment and Z=34 in the light fragment [G. Scamps and C. Simenel, arXiv:1904.01275 (2019)]. To investigate both shell-effects and to determine which one has the main influence on the asymmetry in the region of the $^{180}$Hg, we produce a systematic of Constraint-Hartree-Fock calculations in nuclei with similar N/Z ratio than the $^{178}$Pt. It is found that N=56 determines the asymmetry of systems in this region of the nuclear chart.

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arXiv2015

Dynamical description of the fission process using the TD-BCS theory

The description of fission remains a challenge for nuclear microscopic theories. The time-dependent Hartree-Fock approach with BCS pairing is applied to study the last stage of the fission process. A good agreement is found for the one-body observables: the total kinetic energy and the average mass asymmetry. The non-physical dependence of two-body observables with the initial shape is discussed.

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arXiv2015

Microscopic description of large amplitude collective motion in the nuclear astrophysics context

In the last 10 years, we have observed an important increase of interest in the application of time-dependent energy density functional theory (TD-EDF). This approach allows to treat nuclear structure and nuclear reaction from small to large amplitude dynamics in a unified framework. The possibility to perform unrestricted three-dimensional simulations using state of the art effective interactions has opened new perspectives. In the present article, an overview of applications where the predictive power of TD-EDF has been benchmarked is given. A special emphasize is made on processes that are of astrophysical interest. Illustrations discussed here include giant resonances, fission, binary and ternary collisions leading to fusion, transfer and deep inelastic processes.

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arXiv2015

Superfluid dynamics of 258Fm fission

Theoretical description of nuclear fission remains one of the major challenges of quantum many-body dynamics. The slow, mostly adiabatic motion through the fission barrier is followed by a fast, non-adiabatic descent of the potential between the fragments. The latter stage is essentially unexplored. However, it is crucial as it generates most of the excitation energy in the fragments. The superfluid dynamics in the latter stage of fission is obtained with the time-dependent Hartree-Fock theory including BCS dynamical pairing correlations. The fission modes of the 258Fm nucleus are studied. The resulting fission fragment characteristics show a good agreement with experimental data. Quantum shell effects are shown to play a crucial role in the dynamics and formation of the fragments. The importance of quantum fluctuations beyond the independent particle/quasi-particle picture is underlined and qualitatively studied.

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arXiv2012

From light to hyper-heavy molecules and neutron-star crusts in a dynamical mean-field approach

The richness of phenomena occurring in heavy-ion collisions calls for microscopic approaches where the motion of each nucleon is treated quantum mechanically. The most popular microscopic approach for low-energy collisions between atomic nuclei is the time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) theory, providing a quantum mean-field dynamics of the system. The TDHF approach and some of its extensions are used to predict the evolution of out-of-equilibrium nuclear systems. The formation of di-nuclear systems with a structure close to molecular states is investigated. In particular, lifetimes and exit channels are described. The formation of light molecules and the dynamics of $\al$-clustering are discussed. Di-nuclear systems formed in transfer, deep-inelastic, and quasi-fission reactions, as well as hyper-heavy molecules produced in reactions between actinides are also investigated. The formation and stability of structures in neutron star crusts are finally discussed.

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arXiv2012

Nuclear Quantum Many-Body Dynamics: From Collective Vibrations to Heavy-Ion Collisions

A summary of recent researches on nuclear dynamics with realistic microscopic quantum approaches is presented. The Balian-Vénéroni variational principle is used to derive the time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) equation describing the dynamics at the mean-field level, as well as an extension including small-amplitude quantum fluctuations which is equivalent to the time-dependent random-phase approximation (TDRPA). Such formalisms as well as their practical implementation in the nuclear physics framework with modern three-dimensional codes are discussed. Recent applications to nuclear dynamics, from collective vibrations to heavy-ion collisions are presented. A particular attention is devoted to the interplay between collective motions and internal degrees of freedom. For instance, the harmonic nature of collective vibrations is questioned. Nuclei are also known to exhibit superfluidity due to pairing residual interaction. Extensions of the theoretical approach to study such pairing vibrations are now available. Large amplitude collective motions are investigated in the framework of heavy-ion collisions leading, for instance, to the formation of a compound system. How fusion is affected by the internal structure of the collision partners, such as their deformation, is discussed. Other mechanisms in competition with fusion, and responsible for the formation of fragments which differ from the entrance channel (transfer reactions, deep-inelastic collisions, and quasi-fission) are investigated. Finally, studies of actinide collisions forming, during very short times of few zeptoseconds, the heaviest nuclear systems available on Earth, are presented.

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arXiv2012

Effects of Nuclear Structure on Quasi-fission

The quasi-fission mechanism hinders fusion of heavy systems because of a mass flow between the reactants, leading to a re-separation of more symmetric fragments in the exit channel. A good understanding of the competition between fusion and quasi-fission mechanisms is expected to be of great help to optimize the formation and study of heavy and superheavy nuclei. Quantum microscopic models, such as the time-dependent Hartree-Fock approach, allow for a treatment of all degrees of freedom associated to the dynamics of each nucleon. This provides a description of the complex reaction mechanisms, such as quasi-fission, with no parameter adjusted on reaction mechanisms. In particular, the role of the deformation and orientation of a heavy target, as well as the entrance channel magicity and isospin are investigated with theoretical and experimental approaches.

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arXiv2012

Quantum microscopic approach to low-energy heavy ion collisions

The Time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) theory is applied to the study of heavy ion collisions at energies around the Coulomb barrier. The competition between fusion and nucleon transfer mechanisms is investigated. For intermediate mass systems such as 16O+208Pb, proton transfer favors fusion by reducing the Coulomb repulsion. A comparison with sub-barrier transfer experimental data shows that pairing correlations are playing an important role in enhancing proton pair transfer. For heavier and more symmetric systems, a fusion hindrance is observed due to the dominance of the quasi-fission process. Typical quasi-fission time of few zeptoseconds are obtained. Actinide collisions are also investigated both within the TDHF approach and with the Ballian-Vénéroni prescription for fluctuation and correlation of one-body observables. The possible formation of new heavy neutron-rich nuclei in actinide collisions is discussed.

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arXiv2012

Influence of entrance-channel magicity and isospin on quasi-fission

The role of spherical quantum shells in the competition between fusion and quasi-fission is studied for reactions forming heavy elements. Measurements of fission fragment mass distributions for different reactions leading to similar compound nuclei have been made near the fusion barrier. In general, more quasi-fission is observed for reactions with non-magic nuclei. However, the $^{40}$Ca+$^{208}$Pb reaction is an exception, showing strong evidence for quasi-fission, though both nuclei are doubly magic. Time-dependent Hartree-Fock calculations predict fast equilibration of $N/Z$ in the two fragments early in the collision. This transfer of nucleons breaks the shell effect, causing this reaction to behave more like a non-magic one in the competition between fusion and quasi-fission. Future measurements of fission in reactions with exotic beams should be able to test this idea with larger $N/Z$ asymmetries.

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arXiv2011

Study of $^{124}$Sn+$^{136}$Xe fusion-evaporation: analysis of a rare-event experiment

Fusion-evaporation in the $^{124}$Sn+$^{136}$Xe system is studied using a high intensity xenon beam provided by the Ganil accelerator and the LISE3 wien filter for the selection of the products. Due to the mass symmetry of the entrance system, the rejection of the beam by the spectrometer was of the order of $5times10^8$. We have thus performed a detailed statistical analysis to estimate random events and to infer the fusion-evaporation cross sections. No signicant decay events were detected and upper limit cross sections of 172 pb, 87 pb and 235 pb were deduced for the synthesis of $^{257}$Rf, $^{258}$Rf and $^{259}$Rf, respectively.

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arXiv2011

Actinide collisions for QED and superheavy elements with the time-dependent Hartree-Fock theory and the Balian-Vénéroni variational principle

Collisions of actinide nuclei form, during very short times of few zs ($10^{-21}$ s), the heaviest ensembles of interacting nucleons available on Earth. Such collisions are used to produce super-strong electric fields by the huge number of interacting protons to test spontaneous positron-electron pair emission (vacuum decay) predicted by the quantum electrodynamics (QED) theory. Multi-nucleon transfer in actinide collisions could also be used as an alternative way to fusion in order to produce neutron-rich heavy and superheavy elements thanks to inverse quasifission mechanisms. Actinide collisions are studied in a dynamical quantum microscopic approach. The three-dimensional time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) code {\textsc{tdhf3d}} is used with a full Skyrme energy density functional to investigate the time evolution of expectation values of one-body operators, such as fragment position and particle number. This code is also used to compute the dispersion of the particle numbers (e.g., widths of fragment mass and charge distributions) from TDHF transfer probabilities, on the one hand, and using the Balian-Veneroni variational principle, on the other hand. A first application to test QED is discussed. Collision times in $^{238}$U+$^{238}$U are computed to determine the optimum energy for the observation of the vacuum decay. It is shown that the initial orientation strongly affects the collision times and reaction mechanism. The highest collision times predicted by TDHF in this reaction are of the order of $\sim4$ zs at a center of mass energy of 1200 MeV. According to modern calculations based on the Dirac equation, the collision times at $E_{cm}>1$ GeV are sufficient to allow spontaneous electron-positron pair emission from QED vacuum decay, in case of bare uranium ion collision. A second application of actinide collisions to produce neutron-rich transfermiums is discussed. A new inverse quasifission mechanism associated to a specific orientation of the nuclei is proposed to produce transfermium nuclei ($Z>100$) in the collision of prolate deformed actinides such as $^{232}$Th+$^{250}$Cf. The collision of the tip of one nucleus with the side of the other results in a nucleon flux toward the latter. The probability distributions for transfermium production in such a collision are computed. The produced nuclei are more neutron-rich than those formed in fusion reactions, thus, leading to more stable isotopes closer to the predicted superheavy island of stability. In addition to mass and charge dispersion, the Balian-Veneroni variational principle is used to compute correlations between $Z$ and $N$ distributions, which are zero in standard TDHF calculations.

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arXiv2011

Particle number fluctuations and correlations in transfer reactions obtained using the Balian-Vénéroni variational principle

The Balian-Vénéroni (BV) variational principle, which optimizes the evolution of the state according to the relevant observable in a given variational space, is used at the mean-field level to determine the particle number fluctuations in fragments of many-body systems. For fermions, the numerical evaluation of such fluctuations requires the use of a time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) code. Proton, neutron and total nucleon number fluctuations in fragments produced in collisions of two 40Ca are computed for a large range of angular momenta at a center of mass energy E_cm=128 MeV, well above the fusion barrier. For deep-inelastic collisions, the fluctuations calculated from the BV variational principle are much larger than standard TDHF results, and closer to mass and charge experimental fluctuations. For the first time, correlations between proton and neutron numbers are determined within a quantum microscopic approach. These correlations are shown to be larger with exotic systems where charge equilibration occurs.

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arXiv2010

Particle transfer reactions with the time-dependent Hartree-Fock theory using a particle number projection technique

A particle-number projection technique is used to calculate transfer probabilities in the $^{16}$O+$^{208}$Pb reaction below the fusion barrier. The time evolution of the many-body wave function is obtained with the time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) mean-field theory. The agreement with experimental data for the sum of the proton-transfer channels is good, considering that TDHF has no parameter adjusted on reaction mechanism. Some perspectives for extensions beyond TDHF to include cluster-transfers are discussed.

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