arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J. N. De.
A prescription to incorporate the effects of nuclear flow on the process of multifragmentation of hot nuclei is proposed in an analytically solvable canonical model. Flow is simulated by the action of an effective negative external pressure. It favors sharpening the signatures of liquid-gas phase transition in finite nuclei with increased multiplicity and a lowered phase transition temperature.
The concept of freeze out volume used in many statistical approaches for disassembly of hot nuclei leads to ambiguities. The fragmentation pattern and the momentum distribution (temperature) of the emanated fragments are determined by the phase space at the freeze-out volume where the interaction among the fragments is supposedly frozen out. However, to get coherence with the experimental momentum distribution of the charged particles, one introduces Coulomb acceleration beyond this freeze-out. To be consistent, we investigate the effect of the attractive nuclear force beyond this volume and find that the possible recombination of the fragments alters the physical observables significantly casting doubt on the consistency of the statistical model.
The liquid-gas phase transition in finite nuclei is studied in a heated liquid-drop model where the drop is assumed to be in thermodynamic equilibrium with the vapour emanated from it. Changing pressure along the liquid-gas coexistence line of the systems, symmetric or asymmetric, suggests that the phase transition is a continuous one. This is further corroborated from the study of the thermal evolution of the entropy at constant pressure.
Stability of nuclei beyond the drip lines in the presence of an enveloping gas of nucleons and electrons, as prevailing in the inner crust of a neutron star, is studied in the temperature-dependent Thomas-Fermi framework. A limiting asymmetry in the isospin space beyond which nuclei cannot exist emerges from the calculations. The ambient conditions like temperature, baryon density and neutrino concentration under which these exotic nuclear systems can be formed are studied in some detail.
The relativistic mean field theory is applied to study some exotic properties of neutron rich nuclei as recently observed, namely, extension of the drip-line for $F$ nuclei from $^{29}F$ to $^{31}F$ and the appearence of a new shell closure at neutron number N=16. We find $^{31}F$ to be bound against one-neutron dripping but unbound only marginally for two neutron separation. The calculated functional dependence of one-neutron separation energy with neutron number for different values of $T_Z = (N-Z)/2$ signals a new shell closure at N=16 for neutron rich nuclei with $T_Z\ge 3$. This is further corroborated from the study of the deformation and the gap across the Fermi surface in these light nuclei.
In a Thomas-Fermi model, calculations are presented for nuclei beyond the nuclear drip line at zero temperature. These nuclei are in equilibrium by the presence of an external gas, as may be envisaged in the astrophysical scenario. We find that there is a limiting asymmetry beyond which these nuclei can no longer be made stable.
The thermal evolution of the shell correction energy is investigated for deformed nuclei using Strutinsky prescription in a self-consistent relativistic mean-field framework. For temperature independent single-particle states corresponding to either spherical or deformed nuclear shapes, the shell correction energy $Δ_{sc}$ steadily washes out with temperature. However, for states pertaining to the self-consistent thermally evolving shapes of deformed nuclei, the dual role played by the single-particle occupancies in diluting the fluctuation effects from the single-particle spectra and in driving the system towards a smaller deformation is crucial in determining $Δ_{sc}$ at moderate temperatures. In rare earth nuclei, it is found that $Δ_{sc}$ builds up strongly around the shape transition temperature; for lighter deformed nuclei like $^{64}Zn$ and $^{66}Zn$, this is relatively less prominent.
A detailed microscopic study of the temperature dependence of the shapes of some rare-earth nuclei is made in the relativistic mean field theory. Analyses of the thermal evolution of the single-particle orbitals and their occupancies leading to the collapse of the deformation are presented. The role of the non-linear $σ-$field on the shape transition in different nuclei is also investigated; in its absence the shape transition is found to be sharper.
The equation of state (EOS) of finite nuclei is constructed in the relativistic Thomas-Fermi theory using the non-linear $σ-ω-ρ$ model. The caloric curves are calculated by confining the nuclei in the freeze-out volume taken to be a sphere of size about 4 to 8 times the normal nuclear volume. The results obtained from the relativistic theory are not significantly different from those obtained earlier in a non-relativistic framework. The nature of the EOS and the peaked structure of the specific heat $C_v$ obtained from the caloric curves show clear signals of a liquid-gas phase transition in finite nuclei. The temperature evolution of the Gibbs potential and the entropy at constant pressure indicate that the characteristics of the transition are not too different from the first-order one.
A systematic study of the temperature dependence of the shapes and pairing gaps of some isotopes in the rare-earth region is made in the relativistic Hartree-BCS theory. Thermal response to these nuclei is always found to lead to a phase transition from the superfluid to the normal phase at a temperature $T_Δ\sim 0.4 - 0.8$ MeV and a shape transition from prolate to spherical shapes at $T_c\sim 1.0 - 2.5$ MeV. These shape transition temperatures are appreciably higher than the corresponding ones calculated in the non-relativistic framework with the pairing plus quadrupole interaction. Study of nuclei with continued addition of neutron pairs for a given isotope shows that with increased ground state deformation, the transition to the spherical shape is delayed in temperature. A strong linear correlation between $T_Δ$ and the ground state pairing gap $Δ^0$ is observed; a well- marked linear correlation between $T_c$ and the ground state quadrupole defromation $β_2^{0}$ is also seen. The thermal evolution of the hexadecapole deformation is further presented in the paper.
The relativistic Hartree-BCS theory is applied to study the temperature dependence of nuclear shape and pairing gap for $^{166}Er$ and $^{170}Er$. For both the nuclei, we find that as temperature increases the pairing gap vanishes leading to phase transition from superfluid to normal phase as is observed in nonrelativistic calculation. The deformation evolves from prolate shapes to spherical shapes at $T\sim 2.7$ MeV. Comparison of our results for heat capacity with the ones obtained in the non-relativistic mean field framework indicates that in the relativistic mean field theory the shape transition occurs at a temperature about 0.9 MeV higher and is relatively weaker. The effect of thermal shape fluctuations on the temperature dependence of deformation is also studied. Relevant results for the level density parameter are further presented. PACS numbers: 21.10.Ma, 21.60.-n, 27.70.+q
We construct the equation of state (EOS) of finite nuclei including surface and Coulomb effects in a Thomas-Fermi framework using a finite range, momentum and density dependent two-body interaction. We identify critical temperatures for nuclei below which the EOS so constructed shows clear signals for liquid-gas phase transition in these finite systems. Comparison with the EOS of infinite nuclear matter shows that the critical density and temperature of the phase transition in nuclei are influenced by the mentioned finite size effects.
A systematic study of the effect of fragment$-$fragment interaction, quantum statistics, $γ$-feeding and collective flow is made in the extraction of the nuclear temperature from the double ratio of the isotopic yields in the statistical model of one-step (Prompt) multifragmentation. Temperature is also extracted from the isotope yield ratios generated in the sequential binary-decay model. Comparison of the thermodynamic temperature with the extracted temperatures for different isotope ratios show some anomaly in both models which is discussed in the context of experimentally measured caloric curves.
In a finite temperature Thomas-Fermi theory, we construct caloric curves for finite nuclei enclosed in a freeze-out volume few times the normal nuclear volume, with and without inclusion of flow. Without flow, the caloric curve indicates a smooth liquid-gas phase transition whereas with flow, the transition may be very sharp. We discuss these results in the context of two recent experiments, one for heavy symmetric system (Au + Au at 600A MeV) and the other for highly asymmetric system (Au + C at 1A GeV) where different behaviours in the caloric curves are seen.
In a finite temperature Thomas-Fermi framework, we calculate density distributions of hot nuclei enclosed in a freeze-out volume of few times the normal nuclear volume and then construct the caloric curve, with and without inclusion of radial collective flow. In both cases, the calculated specific heats $C_v$ show a peaked structure signalling a liquid-gas phase transition. Without flow, the caloric curve indicates a continuous phase transition whereas with inclusion of flow, the transition is very sharp. In the latter case, the nucleus undergoes a shape change to a bubble from a diffuse sphere at the transition temperature.
The possibility of formation of a droplet phase (DP) inside a star and its consequences on the structural properties of the star are investigated. For nuclear matter (NM), an equation of state (EOS) based on finite range, momentum and density dependent interaction, and which predicts that neutron matter undergoes ferromagnetic transition at densities realisable inside the neutron star is employed. An EOS for quark matter (QM) with density dependent quark masses, the so-called effective mass model, is constructed by correctly treating the quark chemical potentials. It is then found that a droplet phase consisting of strange quark matter and unpolarised nuclear matter sandwiched between a core of polarised nuclear matter and a crust containing unpolarised nuclear matter exists. Moreover, we could explain the mass and surface magnetic field satisfactorily, and as well allow, due to the presence of a droplet phase, the direct URCA process to happen.
In a finite temperature Thomas-Fermi theory with realistic nuclear interactions, we construct caloric curves for finite nuclei enclosed in a sphere of about $4 - 8$ times the normal nuclear volume. The specific heat capacity $C_v$ shows a peaked structure that is possibly indicative of a liquid-gas phase transition in finite nuclear systems.
An equation of state(EOS) of nuclear matter with explicit inclusion of a spin-isospin dependent force is constructed from a finite range, momentum and density dependent effective interaction. This EOS is found to be in good agreement with those obtained from more sophisticated models for unpolarised nuclear matter. Introducing spin degrees of freedom, it is found that at density about 2.5 times the density of normal nuclear matter the neutron matter undergoes a ferromagnetic transition. The maximum mass and the radius of the neutron star agree favourably with the observations. Since finding quark matter rather than spin polarised nuclear matter at the core of neutron stars is more probable, the proposed EOS is also applied to the study of hybrid stars. It is found using the bag model picture that one can in principle describe both the mass and size as well as the surface magnetic field of hybrid stars satisfactorily.