arXiv subjects

M. A. Caprio

Publications and source records attributed to M. A. Caprio.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Spectroscopy of $^{11}$Be from the $^{10}$Be($d,p$) reaction measured in inverse kinematics by the AT-TPC in SOLARIS

The spectroscopy of $^{11}$Be is explored using the $^{10}$Be$(d,p)$$^{11}$Be transfer reaction performed in inverse kinematics at $9.6\,\MeV/u$ using the Active Target Time Projection Chamber (AT-TPC) inside the SOLARIS solenoid. This experiment is the first attempt at coupling the AT-TPC with SOLARIS to perform a high luminosity transfer reaction measurement without compromising excitation energy and scattering angle resolutions. The angular momentum transfer for states up to $3.40\,\MeV$ are determined from distorted-wave Born approximation analysis of the measured angular distributions, from which the corresponding spectroscopic factors are deduced. These factors are compared with those from various shell model interactions, and those for the $3.40\,\MeV$ state are consistent with a positive parity assignment. Recent \textit{ab initio} no-core configuration interaction (NCCI) calculations with various nucleon-nucleon interactions are presented for the low-lying positive parity states of $^{11}$Be. The excitation energies produced using the Daejeon16 interaction are in good agreement with those found from both this experiment and the literature, thus supporting a positive parity assignment. The $3.40\,\MeV$ state, if assigned a tentative $J^\pi=3/2^+$, would then correspond to the second excited state of the $K^P=1/2^+$ one-neutron halo ground state rotational band also predicted from such NCCI calculations.

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arXiv2023

Nuclear $β$ decay as a probe for physics beyond the Standard Model

This white paper was submitted to the 2022 Fundamental Symmetries, Neutrons, and Neutrinos (FSNN) Town Hall Meeting in preparation for the next NSAC Long Range Plan. We advocate to support current and future theoretical and experimental searches for physics beyond the Standard Model using nuclear $β$ decay.

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arXiv2021

Symmetry and shape coexistence in 10Be

Within the low-lying spectrum of 10Be, multiple rotational bands are found, with strikingly different moments of inertia. A proposed interpretation has been that these bands variously represent triaxial rotation and prolate axially-deformed rotation. The bands are well-reproduced in ab initio no-core configuration interaction (NCCI) calculations. We use the calculated wave functions to elucidate the nuclear shapes underlying these bands, by examining the Elliott SU(3) symmetry content of these wave functions. The ab initio results support an interpretation in which the ground-state band, along with an accompanying K=2 side band, represent a triaxial rotor, arising from an SU(3) irreducible representation in the 0 hbar omega space. Then, the lowest excited K=0 band represents a prolate rotor, arising from an SU(3) irreducible representation in the 2 hbar omega space.

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arXiv2021

Quadrupole moments and proton-neutron structure in p-shell mirror nuclei

Electric quadrupole (E2) matrix elements provide a measure of nuclear deformation and related collective structure. Ground-state quadrupole moments in particular are known to high precision in many p-shell nuclei. While the experimental electric quadrupole moment only measures the proton distribution, both proton and neutron quadrupole moments are needed to probe proton-neutron asymmetry in the nuclear deformation. We seek insight into the relation between these moments through the ab initio no-core configuration interaction (NCCI), or no-core shell model (NCSM), approach. Converged ab initio calculations for quadrupole moments are particularly challenging, due to sensitivity to long-range behavior of the wave functions. We therefore study more robustly-converged ratios of quadrupole moments: across mirror nuclides, or of proton and neutron quadrupole moments within the same nuclide. In calculations for mirror pairs in the p shell, we explore how well the predictions for mirror quadrupole moments agree with experiment and how well isospin (mirror) symmetry holds for quadrupole moments across a mirror pair.

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arXiv2021

First Measurement of the $B(E2; 3/2^- \rightarrow 1/2^-)$ Transition Strength in $^7$Be: Testing Ab Initio Predictions for $A=7$ Nuclei

Electromagnetic observables are able to give insight into collective and emergent features in nuclei, including nuclear clustering. These observables also provide strong constraints for ab initio theory, but comparison of these observables between theory and experiment can be difficult due to the lack of convergence for relevant calculated values, such as $E2$ transition strengths. By comparing the ratios of $E2$ transition strengths for mirror transitions, we find that a wide range of ab initio calculations give robust and consistent predictions for this ratio. To experimentally test the validity of these ab initio predictions, we performed a Coulomb excitation experiment to measure the $B(E2; 3/2^- \rightarrow 1/2^-)$ transition strength in $^7$Be for the first time. A $B(E2; 3/2^- \rightarrow 1/2^-)$ value of $26(6)(3) \, e^2 \mathrm{fm}^4$ was deduced from the measured Coulomb excitation cross section. This result is used with the experimentally known $^7$Li $B(E2; 3/2^- \rightarrow 1/2^-)$ value to provide an experimental ratio to compare with the ab initio predictions. Our experimental value is consistent with the theoretical ratios within $1 σ$ uncertainty, giving experimental support for the value of these ratios. Further work in both theory and experiment can give insight into the robustness of these ratios and their physical meaning.

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arXiv2020

Intrinsic operators for the translationally-invariant many-body problem

The need to enforce fermionic antisymmetry in the nuclear many-body problem commonly requires use of single-particle coordinates, defined relative to some fixed origin. To obtain physical operators which nonetheless act on the nuclear many-body system in a Galilean-invariant fashion, thereby avoiding spurious center-of-mass contributions to observables, it is necessary to express these operators with respect to the translational intrinsic frame. Several commonly-encountered operators in nuclear many-body calculations, including the magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole operators (in the impulse approximation) and generators of SU(3) and Sp(3,R) symmetry groups, are bilinear in the coordinates and momenta of the nucleons and, when expressed in intrinsic form, become two-body operators. To work with such operators in a second-quantized many-body calculation, it is necessary to relate three distinct forms: the defining intrinsic-frame expression, an explicitly two-body expression in terms of two-particle relative coordinates, and a decomposition into one-body and separable two-body parts. We establish the relations between these forms, for general (non-scalar and non-isoscalar) operators bilinear in coordinates and momenta.

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arXiv2020

Emergent Sp(3,R) dynamical symmetry in the nuclear many-body system from an ab initio description

Ab initio nuclear theory provides not only a microscopic framework for quantitative description of the nuclear many-body system, but also a foundation for deeper understanding of emergent collective correlations. A symplectic Sp(3,R)$\supset$U(3) dynamical symmetry is identified in ab initio predictions, from a no-core configuration interaction approach, and found to provide a qualitative understanding of the spectrum of 7Be. Low-lying states form an Elliott SU(3) spectrum, while an Sp(3,R) excitation gives rise to an excited rotational band with strong quadrupole connections to the ground state band.

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arXiv2020

Robust ab initio predictions for nuclear rotational structure in the Be isotopes

No-core configuration interaction (NCCI) calculations for p-shell nuclei give rise to rotational bands, identified by strong intraband E2 transitions and by rotational patterns for excitation energies, electromagnetic moments, and electromagnetic transitions. However, convergence rates differ significantly for different rotational observables and for different rotational bands. The choice of internucleon interaction may also substantially impact the convergence rates. Consequently, there is a substantial gap between simply observing the qualitative emergence of rotation in ab initio calculations and actually carrying out detailed quantitative comparisons. In this contribution, we illustrate the convergence properties of rotational band energy parameters extracted from NCCI calculations, and compare these predictions with experiment, for the isotopes 7-11Be, and for the JISP16 and Daejeon16 interactions.

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arXiv2020

Structure of collective modes in transitional and deformed nuclei

The collective structure of atomic nuclei intermediate between spherical and quadrupole deformed structure presents challenges to theoretical understanding. However, models have recently been proposed in terms of potentials which are soft with respect to the quadrupole deformation variable beta. To test these models, information is needed on low-spin states of transitional nuclei. The present work involves measurement of electromagnetic decay properties of low-spin states for nuclei in the A=100 (gamma-soft) and N=90 (axially symmetric) transition regions. Population in beta-decay and thermal neutron capture are used, and measurements are carried out using gamma-ray coincidence spectroscopy, fast electronic scintillation timing, and gamma-ray induced Doppler broadening techniques, in experiments at Yale, TRIUMF ISAC, and the ILL. To facilitate interpretation of these nuclei, a new approach is developed that simplifies the application of the geometric collective model by use of scaling properties. Solutions are also obtained for the E(5) Hamiltonian for finite well depth.

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arXiv2019

Ab initio rotation in 10Be

Ab initio theory describes nuclei from a fully microscopic formulation, with no presupposition of collective degrees of freedom, yet signatures of clustering and rotation nonetheless arise. We can therefore look to ab initio theory for an understanding of the nature of these emergent phenomena. To probe the nature of rotation in 10Be, we examine the predicted rotational spectroscopy from no-core configuration interaction (NCCI) calculations with the Daejeon16 internucleon interaction, and find spectra suggestive of coexisting rotational structures having qualitatively different intrinsic deformations: one triaxial and the other with large axial deformation arising primarily from the neutrons.

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arXiv2019

Probing ab initio emergence of nuclear rotation

Structural phenomena in nuclei, from shell structure and clustering to superfluidity and collective rotations and vibrations, reflect emergent degrees of freedom. Ab initio theory describes nuclei directly from a fully microscopic formulation. We can therefore look to ab initio theory as a means of exploring the emergence of effective degrees of freedom in nuclei. For the illustrative case of emergent rotational bands in the Be isotopes, we establish an understanding of the underlying oscillator space and angular momentum (orbital and spin) structure. We consider no-core configuration interaction (NCCI) calculations for 7,9,11Be with the Daejeon16 internucleon interaction. Although shell model or rotational degrees of freedom are not assumed in the ab initio theory, the NCCI results are suggestive of the emergence of effective shell model degrees of freedom (0 hbar-omega and 2 hbar-omega excitations) and LS-scheme rotational degrees of freedom, consistent with an Elliott-Wilsdon SU(3) description. These results provide some basic insight into the connection between emergent effective collective rotational and shell model degrees of freedom in these light nuclei and the underlying ab initio microscopic description.

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arXiv2018

Natural orbital description of the halo nucleus 6He

Ab initio calculations of nuclei face the challenge of simultaneously describing strong short-range internucleon correlations and the long-range properties of weakly-bound halo nucleons. Natural orbitals, which diagonalize the one-body density matrix, provide a basis which is better matched to the physical structure of the many-body wave function. We demonstrate that the use of natural orbitals significantly improves convergence for ab initio no-core configuration interaction calculations of the neutron halo nucleus 6He, relative to the traditional oscillator basis.

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arXiv2017

The many-nucleon theory of nuclear collective structure and its macroscopic limits: an algebraic perspective

The nuclear collective models introduced by Bohr, Mottelson and Rainwater, together with the Mayer-Jensen shell model, have provided the central framework for the development of nuclear physics. This paper reviews the microscopic evolution of the collective models and their underlying foundations. In particular, it is shown that the Bohr-Mottelson models have expressions as macroscopic limits of microscopic models that have precisely-defined expressions in many-nucleon quantum mechanics. Understanding collective models in this way is especially useful because it enables the analysis of nuclear properties in terms of them to be revisited and reassessed in the light of their microscopic foundations.

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arXiv2016

Algebraic evaluation of matrix elements in the Laguerre function basis

The Laguerre functions constitute one of the fundamental basis sets for calculations in atomic and molecular electron-structure theory, with applications in hadronic and nuclear theory as well. While similar in form to the Coulomb bound-state eigenfunctions (from the Schroedinger eigenproblem) or the Coulomb-Sturmian functions (from a related Sturm-Liouville problem), the Laguerre functions, unlike these former functions, constitute a complete, discrete, orthonormal set for square-integrable functions in three dimensions. We construct the SU(1,1)xSO(3) dynamical algebra for the Laguerre functions and apply the ideas of factorization (or supersymmetric quantum mechanics) to derive shift operators for these functions. We use the resulting algebraic framework to derive analytic expressions for matrix elements of several basic radial operators (involving powers of the radial coordinate and radial derivative) in the Laguerre function basis. We illustrate how matrix elements for more general spherical tensor operators in three dimensional space, such as the gradient, may then be constructed from these radial matrix elements.

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arXiv2016

Efficacy of the SU(3) scheme for ab initio large-scale calculations beyond the lightest nuclei

We report on the computational characteristics of ab initio nuclear structure calculations in a symmetry-adapted no-core shell model (SA-NCSM) framework. We examine the computational complexity of the current implementation of the SA-NCSM approach, dubbed LSU3shell, by analyzing ab initio results for 6Li and 12C in large harmonic oscillator model spaces and SU(3)-selected subspaces. We demonstrate LSU3shell's strong-scaling properties achieved with highly-parallel methods for computing the many-body matrix elements. Results compare favorably with complete model space calculations and significant memory savings are achieved in physically important applications. In particular, a well-chosen symmetry-adapted basis affords memory savings in calculations of states with a fixed total angular momentum in large model spaces while exactly preserving translational invariance.

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arXiv2015

Collective rotation from ab initio theory

Through ab initio approaches in nuclear theory, we may now seek to quantitatively understand the wealth of nuclear collective phenomena starting from the underlying internucleon interactions. No-core configuration interaction (NCCI) calculations for p-shell nuclei give rise to rotational bands, as evidenced by rotational patterns for excitation energies, electromagnetic moments, and electromagnetic transitions. In this review, NCCI calculations of 7-9Be are used to illustrate and explore ab initio rotational structure, and the resulting predictions for rotational band properties are compared with experiment. We highlight the robustness of ab initio rotational predictions across different choices for the internucleon interaction.

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arXiv2015

Emergence of rotational bands in ab initio no-core configuration interaction calculations

Rotational bands have been observed to emerge in ab initio no-core configuration interaction (NCCI) calculations for p-shell nuclei, as evidenced by rotational patterns for excitation energies, electromagnetic moments, and electromagnetic transitions. We investigate the ab initio emergence of nuclear rotation in the Be isotopes, focusing on 9Be for illustration, and make use of basis extrapolation methods to obtain ab initio predictions of rotational band parameters for comparison with experiment. We find robust signatures for rotational motion, which reproduce both qualitative and quantitative features of the experimentally observed bands.

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arXiv2015

Emergence of rotational bands in ab initio no-core configuration interaction calculations of the Be isotopes

The emergence of rotational bands is observed in no-core configuration interaction (NCCI) calculations for the Be isotopes (7<=A<=12), as evidenced by rotational patterns for excitation energies, electromagnetic moments, and electromagnetic transitions. Yrast and low-lying excited bands are found. The results indicate well-developed rotational structure in NCCI calculations, using the JISP16 realistic nucleon-nucleon interaction within finite, computationally-accessible configuration spaces.

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