arXiv subjects

J. C. Pei

Publications and source records attributed to J. C. Pei.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Spatial Entanglement Entropy in Nuclear Fission

Nuclear fission provides a unique manifestation of spatially nonlocal many-body entanglement. We compute the bipartite spatial entanglement entropy exactly along dynamical fission trajectories, by leveraging the fermionic Gaussian state formulation. Across seven representative fissioning channels, the final entanglement entropy correlates strongly with the intrinsic particle number variance of the fragment, yet exhibits no simple dependence on scission geometries. Most notably the entanglement is significantly suppressed when fragments are magic nuclei, revealing a shell anti-entanglement effect. This work establishes entanglement entropy as a novel lens that extends the conventional conception of nuclear fission.

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arXiv2026

Three-body Effect in Short-range Correlations

Short-range correlations (SRCs) provide the link between low- and high-energy nuclear physics and can be quantified by two-nucleon densities. We present calculations of the two-nucleon densities using free-space similarity renormalization group (SRG)-evolved operators and in-medium SRG (IMSRG) ground states with softend chiral interaction. Our calculations benchmark well against no-core shell model (NCSM) results with unevolved oparetors and Hamiltonians in $^4\mathrm{He}$. We explicitly include the induced three-body (3b) density operators for the first time which, together with the 3b Hamiltonians, provide the full 3b effects. We show pronounced 3b effects in the $^{16}\mathrm{O}$ two-nucleon densities. Combined with valence-space IMSRG (VS-IMSRG) method, we extend the calculation to the oxygen isotopic chain. This approach enables a consistent \textit{ab initio} description of low-energy properties and SRCs within one framework and offers predictions for the upcoming SRC measurements in unstable nuclei.

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arXiv2026

Physics Informed Bayesian Machine Learning of Sparse and Imperfect Nuclear Data

The prevailing data-driven machine learning has been plagued by the absence of physics knowledge and the scarcity of data. We implement the physics-model informed prior into Bayesian machine learning to evaluate the energy dependence of independent fission product yields, which are crucial for advanced nuclear energy applications but only sparse and imperfect experimental data are available. The informative prior is the posterior after learning the generated data from fission models. Furthermore, cumulative fission yields are included as a physical constraint via a conversion matrix to provide augmented energy dependence. Our work demonstrated a truly Bayesian machine learning by incorporating comprehensive physics knowledges as a powerful tool to exploit the sparse but expensive nuclear data.

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arXiv2025

$Z=14$ Magicity Revealed by the Mass of the Proton Dripline Nucleus $^{22}$Si

Using the $Bρ$-defined isochronous mass spectrometry technique, we conducted the first mass measurement of the proton dripline nucleus $^{22}$Si. We confirm that $^{22}$Si is bound against particle emission with $S_p/S_{2p}=+1412(114)/+229(54)$ keV, fixing the proton dripline location for the Si element. By analyzing the mass differences of the neighboring $sd$-shell nuclei, we find that $^{22}$Si exhibits a doubly-magic character similar to its mirror partner $^{22}$O, and that the mirror energy difference of $^{22}$Si-$^{22}$O deviates from the predictions assuming mirror symmetry. Gamow shell-model calculations reveal that the average occupations of valence protons in $^{22}$Si are nearly identical to those of valence neutrons in $^{22}$O, supporting the $Z=14$ magicity in $^{22}$Si. The observed mirror-symmetry breaking is attributed to the extended proton distribution in $^{22}$Si arising from a small contribution of the unbound $\pi2s_{1/2}$ orbital.

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arXiv2024

Nuclear structure of dripline nuclei elucidated through precision mass measurements of $^{23}$Si, $^{26}$P, $^{27,28}$S, and $^{31}$Ar

Using the B$ρ$-defined isochronous mass spectrometry technique, we report the first determination of the $^{23}$Si, $^{26}$P, $^{27}$S, and $^{31}$Ar masses and improve the precision of the $^{28}$S mass by a factor of 11. Our measurements confirm that these isotopes are bound and fix the location of the proton dripline in P, S, and Ar. We find that the mirror energy differences of the mirror-nuclei pairs $^{26}$P-$^{26}$Na, $^{27}$P-$^{27}$Mg, $^{27}$S-$^{27}$Na, $^{28}$S-$^{28}$Mg, and $^{31}$Ar-$^{31}$Al deviate significantly from the values predicted assuming mirror symmetry. In addition, we observe similar anomalies in the excited states, but not in the ground states, of the mirror-nuclei pairs $^{22}$Al-$^{22}$F and $^{23}$Al-$^{23}$Ne. Using $ab~ initio$ VS-IMSRG and mean field calculations, we show that such a mirror-symmetry breaking phenomeon can be explained by the extended charge distributions of weakly-bound, proton-rich nuclei. When observed, this phenomenon serves as a unique signature that can be valuable for identifying proton-halo candidates.

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arXiv2022

Modeling survival probabilities of superheavy nuclei at high excitations

This work investigated the first-chance survival probabilities of highly excited compound superheavy nuclei in the prospect of synthesizing new superheavy elements. The main feature of our modelings is the adoption of microscopic temperature dependent fission barriers in calculations of fission rates. A simple derivation is demonstrated to elucidate the connection between Bohr-Wheeler statistical model and imaginary free energy method, obtaining a new formula for fission rates. The best modeling is chosen with respect to reproducing the experimental fission probability of $^{210}$Po. Systematic studies of fission and survival probabilities of No, Fl, Og, and $Z$=120 compound nuclei are performed. Results show large discrepancies by different models for survival probabilities of superheavy nuclei although they are close for $^{210}$Po. We see that the first-chance survival probabilities of $Z$=120 are comparable to that of Fl and Og.

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arXiv2021

Bayesian Data Fusion of Imperfect Fission Yields for Augmented Evaluations

We demonstrate that Bayesian machine learning can be used to treat the vast amount of experimental fission data which are noisy, incomplete, discrepant, and correlated. As an example, the two-dimensional cumulative fission yields (CFY) of neutron-induced fission of $^{238}$U are evaluated with energy dependencies and uncertainty qualifications. For independent fission yields (IFY) with very few experimental data, the heterogeneous data fusion of CFY and IFY is employed to interpolate the energy dependence. This work shows that Bayesian data fusion can facilitate the further utilization of imperfect raw nuclear data.

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arXiv2021

From finite nuclei to neutron stars : the essential role of high-order density dependence in effective forces

A unified description of finite nuclei and equation of state of neutron stars present a major challenge as well as opportunities for understandings of nuclear interactions.Inspired by the Lee-Huang-Yang formula of hard-sphere gases, we developed effective nuclear interactions with an additional high-order density dependent term.The original Skyrme force SLy4 is widely used in studies of neutron stars but is not satisfied for global descriptions of finite nuclei. The refitted SLy4${'}$ force can improve descriptions of finite nuclei but slightly reduces the radius of neutron star of 1.4 solar mass.We found that the extended SLy4 force with a higher-order density dependence can properly describe properties of both finite nuclei and GW170817 binary neutron stars, including the mass-radius relation and the tidal deformability. This demonstrated the essential role of high-order density dependence at ultrahigh densities. Our work provides a unified and predictive model for neutron stars, as well as new insights for the future development of effective interactions.

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arXiv2021

Correlations between nuclear landscape boundaries and neutron-rich r-process abundances

Motivated by the newly observed $^{39}$Na in experiments, systematic calculations of global nuclear binding energies with seven Skyrme forces are performed. We demonstrate the strong correlation between the two-neutron separation energies ($S_{2n}$) of $^{39}$Na and the total number of bound nuclei of the whole nuclear landscape. Furthermore, with calculated nuclear masses, we perform astrophysical rapid-neutron capture process ($r$-process) simulations by using nuclear reaction code TALYS and nuclear reaction network code SkyNet. $r$-process abundances from ejecta of neutron star mergers and core-collapse supernova are compared. Prominent covariance correlations between nuclear landscape boundaries and neutron-rich $r$-process abundances before the third peak are shown. This study highlights the needs for further experimental studies of drip-line nuclei around $^{39}$Na for better constraints on nuclear landscape boundaries and $r$-process.

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arXiv2021

Observation of the near-threshold intruder $0^-$ resonance in $^{12}$Be

A resonant state at $3.21^{+0.12}_{-0.04}$\,MeV, located just above the one-neutron separation threshold, was observed for the first time in $^{12}$Be from the $^{11}$Be\,$(d,p)^{12}$Be one-neutron transfer reaction in inverse kinematics. This state is assigned a spin-parity of $0^-$, according to the distorted-wave Born approximation (DWBA) and decay-width analysis. Gamow coupled-channel (GCC) and Gamow shell-model (GSM) calculations show the importance of the continuum-coupling, which dramatically influences the excitation energy and ordering of low-lying states. Various exotic structures associated with cross-shell intruding configurations in $^{12}$Be and in its isotonic nucleus $^{11}$Li are comparably discussed.

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arXiv2021

Bayesian evaluation of charge yields of fission fragments of 239U

Recent experiments [Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 092503(2019); Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 222501 (2017)] have made remarkable progress in measurements of the isotopic fission-fragment yields of the compound nucleus $^{239}$U, which is of great interests for fast-neutron reactors and for benchmarks of fission models. We apply the Bayesian neural network (BNN) approach to learn existing evaluated charge yields and infer the incomplete charge yields of $^{239}$U. We found the two-layer BNN is improved compared to the single-layer BNN for the overall performance. Our results support the normal charge yields of $^{239}$U around Sn and Mo isotopes. The role of odd-even effects in charge yields has also been studied.

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arXiv2020

Constraints on the neutron drip-line with the newly observed 39Na

The recently observed weakly-bound 39Na provides a stringent theoretical constraint on the neutron drip-line. We studied the properties of drip-line nuclei around 39Na with the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov method and various Skyrme interactions. We adopted the extended SkM*-ext1 parameterization which can properly describe two-neutron separation energies of oxygen and fluorine isotopes and deformations at the center of the "island of inversion". Systematic calculations of drip lines of O, F, Ne, Na, Mg, and Al isotopes have been performed. We infer that 42Mg is weakly bound and 45Al is less weakly bound. 44Mg and 47Al could be barely existed. We also demonstrated the deformed halo properties of 39Na. Our studies could be valuable for experimental explorations of drip-line nuclei in the forthcoming FRIB and other rare-isotope beam facilities .

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arXiv2019

Continuum damping effects in nuclear collisions associated with twisted boundary conditions

The time-dependent Skyrme Hartree-Fock calculations have been performed to study $^{24}$Mg +$^{24}$Mg collisions. The twisted boundary conditions, which can avoid finite box-size effects of the employed 3D coordinate space, have been implemented. The prolate deformed $^{24}$Mg has been set to different orientations to study vibrations and rotations of the compound nucleus $^{48}$Cr. Our time evolution results show continuum damping effects associated with the twist-averaged boundary condition play a persistent role after the fusion stage. In particular, a rotational damping in continuum is presented in calculations of both twist-averaged and absorbing boundary conditions, in which damping widths can be clearly extracted. It is unusual that the rotating compound nucleus in continuum evolves towards spherical but still has a considerable angular momentum.

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arXiv2018

A New Measurement of the Intruder Configuration in 12Be

A new $^{11}$Be($d,p$)$^{12}$Be transfer reaction experiment was carried out in inverse kinematics at 26.9$A$ MeV, with special efforts devoted to the determination of the deuteron target thickness and of the required optical potentials from the present elastic scattering data. In addition, a direct measurement of the cross sections for the 0$_2^+$ state was realized by applying an isomer-tagging technique. The s-wave spectroscopic factors of 0.20(0.04) and 0.41(0.11) were extracted for the 0$_1^+$ and 0$_2^+$ states, respectively, in $^{12}$Be. Using the ratio of these spectroscopic factors, together with the previously reported results for the p-wave components, the single-particle component intensities in the bound 0$^+$ states of $^{12}$Be were deduced, allowing a direct comparison with the theoretical predictions. It is evidenced that the ground-state configuration of $^{12}$Be is dominated by the d-wave intruder, exhibiting a dramatic evolution of the intruding mechanism from $^{11}$Be to $^{12}$Be, with a persistence of the $N = 8$ magic number broken.

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arXiv2018

Global analysis of Skyrme forces with higher-order density dependence

The density dependent term in Skyrme forces is essential, which simulates three-body and many-body correlations beyond the low-momentum two-body interaction. We speculate that a single density term may be insufficient and a higher-order density dependent term is added. The present work investigates the influences of higher-order density dependencies based on extended UNEDF0 and SkM* forces. The global descriptions of nuclear masses and charge radii have been presented. Consequently the extended UNEDF0 force gives a global rms error on binding energies of 1.29 MeV. The influences on fission barriers and equation of state have also been investigated. The perspectives to improve Skyrme forces have also been discussed, including global center-of-mass corrections and Lipkin-Nogami pairing corrections.

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arXiv2017

Probing Surface Quantum Flows in Deformed Pygmy Dipole Modes

In order to explore the nature of collective modes in weakly bound nuclei, we have investigated deformation effects and surface flow patterns of isovector dipole modes in a shape-coexisting nucleus $^{40}$Mg. The calculations were done in a fully self-consistent continuum finite-amplitude Quasiparticle Random Phase Approximation (QRPA) in a large deformed spatial mesh. An unexpected result of pygmy and giant dipole modes having disproportionate deformation splittings in strength functions was obtained. Furthermore, the transition current densities demonstrate that the long-sought core-halo oscillation in pygmy resonances is collective and compressional, corresponding to the lowest excitation energy and the simplest quantum flow topology. Our calculations show that surface flow patterns become more complicated as excitation energies increase.

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arXiv2016

Generalized Second-Order Thomas-Fermi Method for Superfluid Fermi Systems

Using the $\hbar$-expansion of the Green's function of the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov equation, we extend the second-order Thomas-Fermi approximation to generalized superfluid Fermi systems by including the density-dependent effective mass and the spin-orbit potential. We first implement and examine the full correction terms over different energy intervals of the quasiparticle spectra in calculations of finite nuclei. Final applications of this generalized Thomas-Fermi method are intended for various inhomogeneous superfluid Fermi systems.

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arXiv2014

Emergent Soft Monopole Modes in Weakly-Bound Deformed Nuclei

Based on the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov solutions in large deformed coordinate spaces, the finite amplitude method for quasiparticle random phase approximation (FAM-QRPA) has been implemented, providing a suitable approach to probe collective excitations of weakly-bound nuclei embedded in the continuum. The monopole excitation modes in Magnesium isotopes up to the neutron drip line have been studied with the FAM-QRPA framework on both the coordinate-space and harmonic oscillator basis methods. Enhanced soft monopole strengths and collectivity as a result of weak-binding effects have been unambiguously demonstrated.

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