arXiv subjects

Dario Vretenar

Publications and source records attributed to Dario Vretenar.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Pairing correlations, orientations and quantum fluctuations in one- and two-nucleon transfer reactions at sub-barrier energies

This work investigates one- and two-neutron transfer in the $^{96}\text{Zr} + {}^{40}\text{Ca}$ reaction at sub-barrier energies using a microscopic framework based on time-dependent covariant density functional theory (TD-CDFT). Pairing correlations are incorporated via the time-dependent BCS approximation, which is shown to significantly enhance pair transfer, as evidenced by an increased two-neutron transfer probability. The oblate deformation of $^{96}$Zr causes the transfer probabilities to vary by orders of magnitude with orientation; a direct comparison with experiment is enabled by averaging results over thirteen systematically chosen orientations. While the orientation-averaged one-neutron transfer probabilities agree well with data, the two-neutron channel is suppressed below the Coulomb barrier. This suppression is attributed to missing quantum fluctuations in the semiclassical TD-CDFT approach. To test this, we employ the generalized time-dependent generator coordinate method (TDGCM), which confirms that quantum fluctuations are essential for an accurate description of sub-barrier two-neutron transfer dynamics.

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arXiv2025

Intrinsic spin distributions in multinucleon transfer reactions

Time-dependent covariant density functional theory (TD-CDFT) combined with angular momentum projection is developed and applied to study multinucleon transfer (MNT) reactions, with a focus on the intrinsic angular momentum distributions of the final fragments. Using the illustrative reaction $^{40}$Ca + $^{208}$Pb across a range of impact parameters, we find that the MNT process generates broad distributions of intrinsic spins. These distributions arise from the conversion of relative orbital angular momentum into intrinsic spin due to frictional interactions between the colliding nuclei. Additionally, mutual information (entanglement Shannon entropy) is employed to analyze correlations between the intrinsic spins of the fragments.

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arXiv2022

Extended time-dependent generator coordinate method study of induced fission (II): total kinetic energy distribution

A model is developed to calculate the total kinetic energy (TKE) distribution of fission fragments in the framework of the time-dependent generator coordinate method (TDGCM), extended to include dissipation effects in the description of induced fission dynamics. Starting from an expression for the dissipative term in the GCM Hamiltonian that determines the time evolution of a statistical collective wave function, derived in the first part of this work, the integrated flux of the probability current through the scission hyper-surface can be computed at different temperatures. The kinetic energy at scission for a specific pair of fragments at a given temperature is determined by the energy balance formula. By folding the kinetic energies of the fragments with the flux of the probability current, the TKE distribution is calculated. The method is illustrated with a calculation of the TKE distribution for induced fission of $^{228}$Th, in the 3D space of collective coordinates: axially-symmetric quadrupole and octupole deformations, and nuclear temperature.

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arXiv2022

Time-dependent generator coordinate method study of fission: dissipation effects

Starting from a quantum theory of dissipation for nuclear collective motion, the time-dependent generator coordinate method (TDGCM) is extended to allow for dissipation effects in the description of induced fission dynamics. The extension is based on a generalization of the GCM generating functions that includes excited states, and the resulting equation of motion in the collective coordinates and excitation energy. With the assumption of a narrow hamiltonian kernel, an expansion in a power series in collective momenta leads to a Schrödinger-like equation that explicitly includes a dissipation term, proportional to the momentum of the statistical wave function. An illustrative calculation is performed for induced fission of $^{228}$Th. The three-dimensional model space includes the axially-symmetric quadrupole and octupole shape variables, and the nuclear temperature. When compared to data for photo-induced fission of $^{228}$Th, the calculated fission yields demonstrate the important role of the additional term in the hamiltonian that explicitly takes into account the dissipation of energy of collective motion into intrinsic degrees of freedom.

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arXiv2021

Microscopic self-consistent description of induced fission: dynamical pairing degree of freedom

The role of dynamical pairing in induced fission dynamics is investigated using the time-dependent generator coordinate method in the Gaussian overlap approximation, based on the microscopic framework of nuclear energy density functionals. A calculation of fragment charge yields for induced fission of $^{228}$Th is performed in a three-dimensional space of collective coordinates that, in addition to the axial quadrupole and octupole intrinsic deformations of the nuclear density, also includes an isoscalar pairing degree of freedom. It is shown that the inclusion of dynamical pairing has a pronounced effect on the collective inertia, the collective flux through the scission hyper-surface, and the resulting fission yields, reducing the asymmetric peaks and enhancing the contribution of symmetric fission, in better agreement with the empirical trend.

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arXiv2021

Nuclear energy density functionals from empirical ground-state densities

A model is developed, based on the density functional perturbation theory and the inverse Kohn-Sham method, that can be used to improve relativistic nuclear energy density functionals towards an exact but unknown Kohn-Sham exchange-correlation functional. The improved functional is determined by empirical exact ground-state densities of finite systems. A test of the model and an illustrative calculation are performed, starting from two different approximate functionals, to reproduce the parameters and density dependence of a target functional, using exact ground-state densities of symmetric N=Z systems.

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arXiv2020

Microscopic model for the collective enhancement of nuclear level densities

A microscopic method for calculating nuclear level densities (NLD) is developed, based on the framework of energy density functionals. Intrinsic level densities are computed from single-quasiparticle spectra obtained in a finite-temperature self-consistent mean-field (SCMF) calculation that takes into account nuclear deformation, and is specified by the choice of the energy density functional (EDF) and pairing interaction. The total level density is calculated by convoluting the intrinsic density with the corresponding collective level density, determined by the eigenstates of a five-dimensional quadrupole or quadrupole plus octupole collective Hamiltonian. The parameters of the Hamiltonian (inertia parameters, collective potential) are consistently determined by deformation-constrained SCMF calculations using the same EDF and pairing interaction. The model is applied in the calculation of NLD of $^{94,96,98}$Mo, $^{106,108}$Pd, $^{106,112}$Cd, $^{160,162,164}$Dy, $^{166}$Er, and $^{170,172}$Yb, in comparison with available data. It is shown that the collective enhancement of the intrinsic level density, consistently computed from the eigenstates of the corresponding collective Hamiltonian, leads to total NLDs that are in excellent agreement with data over the whole energy range of measured values.

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arXiv2020

Future of Nuclear Fission Theory

There has been much recent interest in nuclear fission, due in part to a new appreciation of its relevance to astrophysics, stability of superheavy elements, and fundamental theory of neutrino interactions. At the same time, there have been important developments on a conceptual and computational level for the theory. The promising new theoretical avenues were the subject of a workshop held at the University of York in October 2019; this report summarises its findings and recommendations.

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arXiv2020

Time-dependent generator coordinate method study of fission: mass parameters

Collective mass tensors derived in the cranking approximation to the adiabatic time-dependent Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (ATDHFB) method are employed in a study of induced fission dynamics. Together with a collective potential determined in deformation-constrained self-consistent mean-field calculations based on nuclear energy density functionals, the mass tensors specify the collective Hamiltonian that governs the time evolution of the nuclear wave function from an initial state at equilibrium deformation, up to scission and the formation of fission fragments. In an illustrative calculation of low-energy induced fission of $^{228}$Th, $^{230}$Th, $^{234}$U, and $^{240}$Pu, we compare the non-perturbative and perturbative cranking ATDHFB mass tensors in the plane of axially-symmetric quadrupole and octupole deformations, as well as the resulting charge yields.

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arXiv2019

Cluster structures in $^{12}$C from global energy density functionals

Spectroscopic properties of low-lying states and cluster structures in $^{12}$C are analyzed in a "beyond mean-field framework" based on global energy density functionals (EDFs). To build symmetry-conserving collective states, axially-symmetric and reflection-asymmetric solutions of the relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov equations are first projected onto good values of angular momentum, particle number, and parity. Configuration mixing is implemented using the generator coordinate method formalism. It is shown that such a global microscopic approach, based on a relativistic EDF, can account for the main spectroscopic features of $^{12}$C, including the ground-state and linear-chain bands as well as, to a certain approximation, the excitation energy of the Hoyle state. The calculated form factors reproduce reasonably well the available experimental values, and display an accuracy comparable to that of dedicated microscopic cluster models.

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arXiv2019

Time-dependent generator coordinate method study of mass-asymmetric fission of actinides

Low-energy positive and negative parity collective states in the equilibrium minimum, and the dynamics of induced fission of actinide nuclei are investigated in a unified theoretical framework based on the generator coordinate method (GCM) with the Gaussian overlap approximation (GOA). The collective potential and inertia tensor, both at zero and finite temperature, are computed using the self-consistent multidimensionally constrained relativistic mean field (MDC-RMF) model, based on the energy density functional DD-PC1. Pairing correlations are treated in the BCS approximation with a separable pairing force of finite range. A collective quadrupole-octupole Hamiltonian characterized by zero-temperature axially-symmetric deformation energy surface and perturbative cranking inertia tensor, is used to model the low-lying excitation spectrum. The fission fragment charge distributions are obtained by propagating the initial collective states in time with the time-dependent GCM+GOA that uses the same quadrupole-octupole Hamiltonian, but with the collective potential and inertia tensor computed at finite temperature. The illustrative charge yields of $^{228}$Th, $^{234}$U, $^{240}$Pu, $^{244}$Cm, and $^{250}$Cf are in very good agreement with experiment, and the predicted mass asymmetry is consistent with the result of a recent microscopic study that has attributed the distribution (peak) of the heavier-fragment nuclei to shell-stabilized octupole deformations.

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arXiv2018

Microscopic self-consistent description of induced fission dynamics: finite temperature effects

The dynamics of induced fission of $^{226}$Th is investigated in a theoretical framework based on the finite-temperature time-dependent generator coordinate method (TDGCM) in the Gaussian overlap approximation (GOA). The thermodynamical collective potential and inertia tensor at temperatures in the interval $T=0 - 1.25$ MeV are calculated using the self-consistent multidimensionally constrained relativistic mean field (MDC-RMF) model, based on the energy density functional DD-PC1. Pairing correlations are treated in the BCS approximation with a separable pairing force of finite range. Constrained RMF+BCS calculations are carried out in the collective space of axially symmetric quadrupole and octupole deformations for the asymmetric fissioning nucleus $^{226}$Th. The collective Hamiltonian is determined by the temperature-dependent free energy surface and perturbative cranking inertia tensor, and the TDGCM+GOA is used to propagate the initial collective state in time. The resulting charge and mass fragment distributions are analyzed as functions of the internal excitation energy. The model can qualitatively reproduce the empirical triple-humped structure of the fission charge and mass distributions already at $T=0$, but the precise experimental position of the asymmetric peaks and the symmetric-fission yield can only be accurately reproduced when the potential and inertia tensor of the collective Hamiltonian are determined at finite temperature, in this particular case between $T=0.75$ MeV and $T=1$ MeV.

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arXiv2017

"Sloppy" nuclear energy density functionals (II): Finite nuclei

A study of parameter sensitivity of nuclear energy density functionals, initiated in the first part of this work \cite{NV.16}, is extended by the inclusion of data on ground-state properties of finite nuclei in the application of the manifold boundary approximation method (MBAM). Density functionals used in self-consistent mean-field calculations, and nuclear structure models based on them, are generally "sloppy" and exhibit an exponential range of sensitivity to parameter variations. Concepts of information geometry are used to identify the presence of effective functionals of lower dimension in parameter space associated with parameter combinations that can be tightly constrained by data. The MBAM is used in an iterative procedure that systematically reduces the complexity and the dimension of parameter space of a sloppy functional, with properties of nuclear matter and data on finite nuclei determining not only the values of model parameters, but also the optimal functional form of the density dependence.

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arXiv2016

Sloppy nuclear energy density functionals: effective model reduction

Concepts from information geometry are used to analyse parameter sensitivity for a nuclear energy density functional, representative of a class of semi-empirical functionals that start from a microscopically motivated ansatz for the density dependence of the energy of a system of protons and neutrons. It is shown that such functionals are sloppy, characterized by an exponential range of sensitivity to parameter variations. Responsive to only a few stiff parameter combinations, they exhibit an exponential decrease of sensitivity to variations of the remaining soft parameters. By interpreting the space of model predictions as a manifold embedded in the data space, with the parameters of the functional as coordinates on the manifold, it is also shown that the exponential distribution of model manifold widths corresponds to the distribution of parameter sensitivity. Using the Manifold Boundary Approximation Method, we illustrate how to systematically construct effective nuclear density functionals of successively lower dimension in parameter space until sloppiness is eventually eliminated and the resulting functional contains only stiff combinations of parameters.

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arXiv2016

Multidimensionally-constrained relativistic mean-field study of spontaneous fission: coupling between shape and pairing degrees of freedom

Studies of fission dynamics, based on nuclear energy density functionals, have shown that the coupling between shape and pairing degrees of freedom has a pronounced effect on the nonperturbative collective inertia and, therefore, on dynamic (least-action) spontaneous fission paths and half-lives. Collective potentials and nonperturbative cranking collective inertia tensors are calculated using the multidimensionally-constrained relativistic mean-field (MDC-RMF) model. Pairing correlations are treated in the BCS approximation using a separable pairing force of finite range. Pairing fluctuations are included as a collective variable using a constraint on particle-number dispersion. Fission paths are determined with the dynamic programming method by minimizing the action in multidimensional collective spaces. The dynamics of spontaneous fission of $^{264}$Fm and $^{250}$Fm are explored. Fission paths, action integrals and corresponding half-lives computed in the three-dimensional collective space of shape and pairing coordinates, using the relativistic functional DD-PC1 and a separable pairing force of finite range, are compared with results obtained without pairing fluctuations. Results for $^{264}$Fm are also discussed in relation with those recently obtained using the HFB model. The inclusion of pairing correlations in the space of collective coordinates favors axially symmetric shapes along the dynamic path of the fissioning system, amplifies pairing as the path traverses the fission barriers, significantly reduces the action integral and shortens the corresponding SF half-life.

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arXiv2015

Multidimensionally-constrained relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov study of nuclear spontaneous fission

Recent microscopic studies, based on the theoretical framework of nuclear energy density functionals, have analyzed dynamic (least action) and static (minimum energy) fission paths, and it has been shown that in addition to the important role played by nonaxial and/or octupole collective degrees of freedom, fission paths crucially depend on the approximations adopted in calculating the collective inertia. The dynamics of spontaneous fission of $^{264}$Fm and $^{250}$Fm is explored. The fission paths, action integrals and the corresponding half-lives predicted by the functionals PC-PK1 and DD-PC1 are compared and, in the case of $^{264}$Fm, discussed in relation with recent results obtained using the HFB model based on the Skyrme functional SkM$^*$ and a density dependent mixed pairing interaction. Deformation energy surfaces, collective potentials, and perturbative and nonperturbative cranking collective inertia tensors are calculated using the multidimensionally-constrained relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov (MDC-RHB) model, with the energy density functionals PC-PK1 and DD-PC1. Pairing correlations are treated in the Bogoliubov approximation using a separable pairing force of finite range. The least-action principle is employed to determine dynamic spontaneous fission paths.

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arXiv2015

Coexistence of nuclear shapes: self-consistent mean-field and beyond

A quantitative analysis of the evolution of nuclear shapes and shape phase transitions, including regions of short-lived nuclei that are becoming accessible in experiments at radioactive-beam facilities, necessitate accurate modeling of the underlying nucleonic dynamics. Important theoretical advances have recently been made in studies of complex shapes and the corresponding excitation spectra and electromagnetic decay patterns, especially in the "beyond mean-field" framework based on nuclear density functionals. Interesting applications include studies of shape evolution and coexistence in N = 28 isotones, the structure of lowest $0^+$ excitations in deformed N $\approx$ 90 rare-earth nuclei, and quadrupole and octupole shape transitions in thorium isotopes.

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arXiv2015

Multidimensionally-constrained relativistic mean-field study of triple-humped barriers in actinides

Potential energy surfaces (PES's) of actinide nuclei are characterized by a two-humped barrier structure. At large deformations beyond the second barrier the occurrence of a third one was predicted by Mic-Mac model calculations in the 1970s, but contradictory results were later reported. In this paper, triple-humped barriers in actinide nuclei are investigated with covariant density functional theory (CDFT). Calculations are performed using the multidimensionally-constrained relativistic mean field (MDC-RMF) model, with functionals PC-PK1 and DD-ME2. Pairing correlations are treated in the BCS approximation with a separable pairing force of finite range. Two-dimensional PES's of $^{226,228,230,232}$Th and $^{232,234,236,238}$U are mapped and the third minima on these surfaces are located. Then one-dimensional potential energy curves along the fission path are analyzed in detail and the energies of the second barrier, the third minimum, and the third barrier are determined. DD-ME2 predicts the occurrence of a third barrier in all Th nuclei and $^{238}$U. The third minima in $^{230,232}$Th are very shallow, whereas those in $^{226,228}$Th and $^{238}$U are quite prominent. With PC-PK1 a third barrier is found only in $^{226,228,230}$Th. Single-nucleon levels around the Fermi surface are analyzed in $^{226}$Th, and it is found that the formation of the third minimum is mainly due to the $Z=90$ proton energy gap at $β_{20} \approx 1.5$ and $β_{30} \approx 0.7$. The possible occurrence of a third barrier in actinide nuclei depends on the effective interaction used in multidimensional CDFT calculations. More pronounced minima are predicted by the DD-ME2 functional, as compared to the functional PC-PK1. The depth of the third well in Th isotopes decreases with increasing neutron number. The origin of the third minimum is due to the proton $Z=90$ shell gap at relevant deformations.

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