arXiv subjects

M. Centelles

Publications and source records attributed to M. Centelles.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2006

Average ground-state energy of finite Fermi systems

Semiclassical theories like the Thomas-Fermi and Wigner-Kirkwood methods give a good description of the smooth average part of the total energy of a Fermi gas in some external potential when the chemical potential is varied. However, in systems with a fixed number of particles N, these methods overbind the actual average of the quantum energy as N is varied. We describe a theory that accounts for this effect. Numerical illustrations are discussed for fermions trapped in a harmonic oscillator potential and in a hard wall cavity, and for self-consistent calculations of atomic nuclei. In the latter case, the influence of deformations on the average behavior of the energy is also considered.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2006

Nuclear expansion with excitation

The expansion of an isolated hot spherical nucleus with excitation energy and its caloric curve are studied in a thermodynamic model with the SkM* force as the nuclear effective two-body interaction. The calculated results are shown to compare well with the recent experimental data from energetic nuclear collisions. The fluctuations in temperature and density are also studied. They are seen to build up very rapidly beyond an excitation energy of 9 MeV/u. Volume-conserving quadrupole deformation in addition to expansion indicates, however, nuclear disassembly above an excitation energy of 4 MeV/u

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arXiv2006

Thomas-Fermi theory for atomic nuclei revisited

The recently developed semiclassical variational Wigner-Kirkwood (VWK) approach is applied to finite nuclei using external potentials and self-consistent mean fields derived from Skyrme interactions and from relativistic mean field theory. VWK consists of the Thomas-Fermi part plus a pure, perturbative hbar^2 correction. In external potentials, VWK passes through the average of the quantal values of the accumulated level density and total energy as a function of the Fermi energy. However, there is a problem of overbinding when the energy per particle is displayed as a function of the particle number. The situation is analyzed comparing spherical and deformed harmonic oscillator potentials. In the self-consistent case, we show for Skyrme forces that VWK binding energies are very close to those obtained from extended Thomas-Fermi functionals of hbar^4 order, pointing to the rapid convergence of the VWK theory. This satisfying result, however, does not cure the overbinding problem, i.e., the semiclassical energies show more binding than they should. This feature is more pronounced in the case of Skyrme forces than with the relativistic mean field approach. However, even in the latter case the shell correction energy for e.g. 208Pb turns out to be only -6 MeV what is about a factor two or three off the generally accepted value. As an ad hoc remedy, increasing the kinetic energy by 2.5%, leads to shell correction energies well acceptable throughout the periodic table. The general importance of the present studies for other finite Fermi systems, self-bound or in external potentials, is pointed out.

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arXiv2005

Critical frequency for vortex nucleation in Bose-Fermi mixtures in optical lattices

We investigate within mean-field theory the influence of a one-dimensional optical lattice and of trapped degenerate fermions on the critical rotational frequency for vortex line creation in a Bose-Einstein condensate. We consider laser intensities of the lattice such that quantum coherence across the condensate is ensured. We find a sizable decrease of the thermodynamic critical frequency for vortex nucleation with increasing applied laser strength and suggest suitable parameters for experimental observation. Since 87Rb-40K mixtures may undergo collapse, we analyze the related question of how the optical lattice affects the mechanical stability of the system.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2005

Bose-Fermi Mixtures in Optical Lattices

Using mean field theory, we have studied Bose-Fermi mixtures in a one-dimensional optical lattice in the case of an attractive boson-fermion interaction. We consider that the fermions are in the degenerate regime and that the laser intensities are such that quantum coherence across the condensate is ensured. We discuss the effect of the optical lattice on the critical rotational frequency for vortex line creation in the Bose-Einstein condensate, as well as how it affects the stability of the boson-fermion mixture. A reduction of the critical frequency for nucleating a vortex is observed as the strength of the applied laser is increased. The onset of instability of the mixture occurs for a sizeably lower number of fermions in the presence of a deep optical lattice.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2005

Sum Rule Approach to the Isoscalar Giant Monopole Resonance in Drip Line Nuclei

Using the density-dependent Hartree-Fock approximation and Skyrme forces together with the scaling method and constrained Hartree-Fock calculations, we obtain the average energies of the isoscalar giant monopole resonance. The calculations are done along several isotopic chains from the proton to the neutron drip lines. It is found that while approaching the neutron drip line, the scaled and the constrained energies decrease and the resonance width increases. Similar but smaller effects arise near the proton drip line, although only for the lighter isotopic chains. A qualitatively good agreement is found between our sum rule description and the presently existing random phase approximation results. The ability of the semiclassical approximations of the Thomas-Fermi type, which properly describe the average energy of the isoscalar giant monopole resonance for stable nuclei, to predict average properties for nuclei near the drip lines is also analyzed. We show that when hbar corrections are included, the semiclassical estimates reproduce, on average, the quantal excitation energies of the giant monopole resonance for nuclei with extreme isospin values.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2005

Atomic Parity Non-Conservation, Neutron Radii, and Effective Field Theories of Nuclei

Accurately calibrated effective field theories are used to compute atomic parity non-conserving (APNC) observables. Although accurately calibrated, these effective field theories predict a large spread in the neutron skin of heavy nuclei. While the neutron skin is strongly correlated to a large number of physical observables, in this contribution we focus on its impact on new physics through APNC observables. The addition of an isoscalar-isovector coupling constant to the effective Lagrangian generates a wide range of values for the neutron skin of heavy nuclei without compromising the success of the model in reproducing well constrained nuclear observables. Earlier studies have suggested that the use of isotopic ratios of APNC observables may eliminate their sensitivity to atomic structure. This leaves nuclear structure uncertainties as the main impediment for identifying physics beyond the standard model. We establish that uncertainties in the neutron skin of heavy nuclei are at present too large to measure isotopic ratios to better than the 0.1% accuracy required to test the standard model. However, we argue that such uncertainties will be significantly reduced by the upcoming measurement of the neutron radius in 208Pb at the Jefferson Laboratory.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2004

Versatility of field theory motivated nuclear effective Lagrangian approach

We analyze the results for infinite nuclear and neutron matter using the standard relativistic mean field model and its recent effective field theory motivated generalization. For the first time, we show quantitatively that the inclusion in the effective theory of vector meson self-interactions and scalar-vector cross-interactions explains naturally the recent experimental observations of the softness of the nuclear equation of state, without losing the advantages of the standard relativistic model for finite nuclei.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2004

Superheavy nuclei in relativistic effective Lagrangian model

Isotopic and isotonic chains of superheavy nuclei are analyzed to search for spherical double shell closures beyond Z=82 and N=126 within the new effective field theory model of Furnstahl, Serot, and Tang for the relativistic nuclear many-body problem. We take into account several indicators to identify the occurrence of possible shell closures, such as two-nucleon separation energies, two-nucleon shell gaps, average pairing gaps, and the shell correction energy. The effective Lagrangian model predicts N=172 and Z=120 and N=258 and Z=120 as spherical doubly magic superheavy nuclei, whereas N=184 and Z=114 show some magic character depending on the parameter set. The magicity of a particular neutron (proton) number in the analyzed mass region is found to depend on the number of protons (neutrons) present in the nucleus.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2004

Field theory Lagrangian approach to nuclear structure

We show that in the search of a unified mean field description of finite nuclei and of nuclear and neutron matter even at high densities, the relativistic nuclear model derived from effective field theory and density functional theory methods constitutes a competitive framework. The model predicts a soft equation of state, owing to the additional meson interaction terms, consistently with the results of the microscopic Dirac-Brueckner-Hartree-Fock theory and recent experimental observations from heavy ion collisions. In finite systems, after inclusion of the pairing correlations, the model is able to describe both stable and exotic nuclei. We address two examples at the limits of the nuclear landscape. On the one hand, we analyze the giant halo effect and the isoscalar giant monopole resonance in very neutron-rich Zr isotopes. On the other hand, we discuss the structure of superheavy nuclei with double shell closures.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2003

Semiclassical evaluation of average nuclear one and two body matrix elements

Thomas-Fermi theory is developed to evaluate nuclear matrix elements averaged on the energy shell, on the basis of independent particle Hamiltonians. One- and two-body matrix elements are compared with the quantal results and it is demonstrated that the semiclassical matrix elements, as function of energy, well pass through the average of the scattered quantum values. For the one-body matrix elements it is shown how the Thomas-Fermi approach can be projected on good parity and also on good angular momentum. For the two-body case the pairing matrix elements are considered explicitly.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2002

Isospin-rich nuclei in neutron star matter

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.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2002

Surface Incompressibility from Semiclassical Relativistic Mean Field Calculations

By using the scaling method and the Thomas-Fermi and Extended Thomas-Fermi approaches to Relativistic Mean Field Theory the surface contribution to the leptodermous expansion of the finite nuclei incompressibility has been self-consistently computed. The validity of the simplest expansion, which contains volume, volume-symmetry, surface and Coulomb terms, is examined by comparing it with self-consistent results of the finite nuclei incompressibility for some currently used non-linear sigma-omega parameter sets. A numerical estimate of higher-order contributions to the leptodermous expansion, namely the curvature and surface-symmetry terms, is made.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2001

Scaling in Relativistic Thomas-Fermi Approach for Nuclei

By using the scaling method we derive the virial theorem for the relativistic mean field model of nuclei treated in the Thomas-Fermi approach. The Thomas-Fermi solutions statisfy the stability condition against scaling. We apply the formalism to study the excitation energy of the breathing mode in finite nuclei with several relativistic parameter sets of common use.

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arXiv2001

Scaling Calculation of Isoscalar Giant Resonances in Relativistic Thomas-Fermi Theory

We derive analytical expressions for the excitation energy of the isoscalar giant monopole and quadrupole resonances in finite nuclei, by using the scaling method and the extended Thomas-Fermi approach to relativistic mean field theory. We study the ability of several non-linear sigma-omega parameter sets of common use in reproducing the experimental data. For monopole oscillations the calculations agree better with experiment when the nuclear matter incompressibility of the relativistic interaction lies in the range 220-260 MeV. The breathing-mode energies of the scaling method compare satisfactorily with those obtained in relativistic RPA and time-dependent mean field calculations. For quadrupole oscillations all the analyzed non-linear parameter sets reproduce the empirical trends reasonably well.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2001

Nuclei beyond the drip line

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.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2001

Pairing Properties In Relativistic Mean Field Models Obtained From Effective Field Theory

We apply recently developed effective field theory nuclear models in mean field approximation (parameter sets G1 and G2) to describe ground-state properties of nuclei from the valley of $β$-stability up to the drip lines. For faster calculations of open-shell nuclei we employ a modified BCS approach which takes into account quasi-bound levels owing to their centrifugal barrier, with a constant pairing strength. We test this simple prescription by comparing with available Hartree-plus-Bogoliubov results. Using the new effective parameter sets we then compute separation energies, density distributions and spin--orbit potentials in isotopic (isotonic) chains of nuclei with magic neutron (proton) numbers. The new forces describe the experimental systematics similarly to conventional non-linear $σ-ω$ relativistic force parameters like NL3.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2000

Effects of new non-linear couplings in relativistic effective field theory

We extend the relativistic mean field theory model of Sugahara and Toki (TM1) by adding new couplings suggested by modern effective field theories. An improved set of parameters (TM1*) is developed with the goal to test the ability of the models based on effective field theory to describe the properties of finite nuclei and, at the same time, to be consistent with the trends of Dirac-Brueckner-Hartree-Fock calculations at densities away from the saturation region. We compare our calculations with other relativistic nuclear force parameters for various nuclear phenomena.

nucl-th↗