arXiv subjects

Patrick J. Fasano

Publications and source records attributed to Patrick J. Fasano.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Halo structure of $^6$He from $\textit{ab initio}$ two-nucleon spatial correlations

We evaluate pairwise correlations using ground state wave functions for $^4$He and $^6$He obtained by $\textit{ab initio}$ no-core shell model calculations with the Daejeon16 nucleon-nucleon interaction plus Coulomb interaction, to characterize the structures of these two systems. We demonstrate that two-nucleon spatial correlations, specifically the pair-number operator $r^0$ and the square-separation operator $r^2$ projected on two-body spin $S$ and isospin $z$ components encode important details of the halo structure of $^6$He. We also analyze the single-particle state occupancies and the two-body state occupancies for the ground state of $^4$He and $^6$He. Our results indicate that the two valence neutrons in the ground state of $^6$He dominantly form a spin-singlet configuration. The rms pair separations between core nucleons and halo neutrons of $^6$He are, on average, about 80% larger than pair separations within the swollen and off-centered "$α$ core". We show that this off-centering effect is primarily responsible for the observed increase in point-proton radius $r_p$ in $^6$He relative to $^4$He.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2026

Symplectic no-core configuration interaction framework for nuclear structure

We present the symplectic no-core configuration interaction (SpNCCI) framework, in which the nuclear many-body problem is solved a symmetry-adapted basis that explicitly encodes approximate symmetries associated with nuclear collectivity and deformation. In this framework, calculations are carried out in a basis organized into Sp(3,R) irreducible representations (irreps), each of which can be expressed as an infinite tower of U(3) irreps. In this framework, matrices of realistic relative two-body operators, such as the nuclear Hamiltonian, are computed directly in the Sp(3,R) many-body basis, obviating the need to expand all Sp(3,R) many-body states in, e.g., a U(3)-coupled configuration basis. Instead, many-body matrix elements are obtained via a recurrence relation that expresses a given matrix element in terms of matrix elements between basis states with fewer oscillator quanta. To use this recurrence method for computing matrix elements of relative two-body operators, we must first expand each operator into components of U(3) tensors. To this end, we present a method for decomposing arbitrary operators into U(3) tensor components.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2026

A modern Fortran library for SU(3) coupling and recoupling coefficients

The group $\mathrm{SU}(3)$ has applications in several branches of physics. Many of these applications depend on availability of $\mathrm{SU}(3)$ coupling and recoupling coefficients. We have developed a modern Fortran library for calculation of the coupling coefficients, for both the $\mathrm{SU}(3)\supset\mathrm{U}(1)\times\mathrm{SU}(2)$ and $\mathrm{SU}(3)\supset\mathrm{SO}(3)$ group chains, and the recoupling coefficients. The library implements the algorithms of Draayer, Akiyama, and Millener, which are laid out in the paper. Performance of the library has been tested and compared to the Akiyama-Draayer (AD) library implementing the same algorithms as well as to a more recent implementation. Our library works for a larger range of $\mathrm{SU}(3)$ quantum numbers and provides more accurate coupling coefficients with large quantum numbers than the AD library.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2025

Robust ab initio predictions for dimensionless ratios of E2 and radius observables. I. Electric quadrupole moments and deformation

Converged results for E2 observables are notoriously challenging to obtain in ab initio no-core configuration interaction (NCCI) approaches. Matrix elements of the E2 operator are sensitive to the large-distance tails of the nuclear wave function, which converge slowly in an oscillator basis expansion. Similar convergence challenges beset ab initio prediction of the nuclear charge radius. However, we exploit systematic correlations between the calculated E2 and radius observables to yield meaningful predictions for relations among these observables. In particular, we examine ab initio predictions for dimensionless ratios of the form Q/r^2, for nuclei throughout the $p$ shell. Meaningful predictions for electric quadrupole moments may then be made by calibrating to the ground-state charge radius, if experimentally known, or vice versa. Moreover, these dimensionless ratios provide ab initio insight into the nuclear quadrupole deformation.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2025

Robust ab initio predictions for dimensionless ratios of E2 and radius observables. II. Estimation of E2 transition strengths by calibration to the charge radius

Converged results for E2 observables are notoriously challenging to obtain in ab initio no-core configuration interaction (NCCI) approaches. Matrix elements of the E2 operator are sensitive to the large-distance tails of the nuclear wave function, which converge slowly in an oscillator basis expansion. Similar convergence challenges beset ab initio prediction of the nuclear charge radius. However, we exploit systematic correlations between the calculated E2 and radius observables to yield meaningful predictions for relations among these observables. In particular, we examine ab initio predictions for dimensionless ratios of the form B(E2)/(e^2r^4), for nuclei throughout the p shell. Meaningful predictions for E2 transition strengths may then be made by calibrating to the ground-state charge radius, if experimentally known.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2024

Direct ab initio calculation of the $^{4}$He nuclear electric dipole polarizability

The calculation of nuclear electromagnetic sum rules by directly diagonalizing the nuclear Hamiltonian in a large basis is numerically challenging and has not been performed for $A>2$ nuclei. With the significant progress of high performance computing, we show that calculating sum rules using numerous discretized continuum states obtained by directly diagonalizing the ab initio no-core shell model Hamiltonian is achievable numerically. Specifically, we calculate the $^{4}$He electric dipole ($E1$) polarizability, that is an inverse energy weighted sum rule, employing the Daejeon16 $NN$ interaction. We demonstrate that the calculations are numerically tractable as the dimension of the basis increases and are convergent. Our results for the $^{4}$He electric dipole polarizability are consistent with the most recent experimental data and are compared with those of other theoretical studies employing different techniques and various interactions.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2024

Intruder band mixing in an ab initio description of 12Be

The spectrum of 12Be exhibits exotic features, e.g., an intruder ground state and shape coexistence, normally associated with the breakdown of a shell closure. While previous phenomenological treatments indicated the ground state has substantial contributions from intruder configurations, it is only with advances in computational abilities and improved interactions that this intruder mixing is observed in ab initio no-core shell model (NCSM) predictions. In this work, we extract electromagnetic observables and symmetry decompositions from the NCSM wave functions to demonstrate that the low-lying positive parity spectrum can be explained in terms of mixing of rotational bands with very different intrinsic structure coexisting within the low-lying spectrum. These observed bands exhibit an approximate SU(3) symmetry and are qualitatively consistent with Elliott model predictions.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2023

Magnetic moments of $A = 3$ nuclei with chiral effective field theory operators

Chiral effective field theory ($χ$EFT) provides a framework for obtaining internucleon interactions in a systematically improvable fashion from first principles, while also providing for the derivation of consistent electroweak current operators. In this work, we apply consistently derived interactions and currents towards calculating the magnetic dipole moments of the $A=3$ systems Triton and Helium-3. We focus here on LENPIC interactions obtained using semilocal coordinate-space (SCS) regularization. Starting from the momentum-space representation of the LENPIC $χ$EFT vector current, we derive the SCS-regularized magnetic dipole operator up through N2LO. We then carry out no-core shell model calculations for Triton and Helium-3 systems, using the SCS LENPIC interaction at N2LO in $χ$EFT, and evaluate the magnetic dipole moments obtained using the consistently derived one-nucleon and two-nucleon electromagnetic currents. As anticipated by prior results with $χ$EFT currents, the current corrections through N2LO provide improved, but not yet complete, agreement with experiment for the Triton and Helium-3 magnetic dipole moments.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2022

Ab initio estimation of $E2$ strengths in $^8$Li and its neighbors by normalization to the measured quadrupole moment

For electric quadrupole ($E2$) observables, which depend on the large-distance tails of the nuclear wave function, ab initio no-core configuration interaction (NCCI) calculations converge slowly, making meaningful predictions challenging to obtain. Nonetheless, the calculated values for different $E2$ matrix elements, particularly those involving levels with closely-related structure (e.g., within the same rotational band) are found to be robustly proportional. This observation suggests that a known value for one observable may be used to determine the overall scale of $E2$ strengths, and thereby provide predictions for others. In particular, we demonstrate that meaningful predictions for $E2$ transitions may be obtained by calibration to the ground-state quadrupole moment. We test this approach for well-measured low-lying $E2$ transitions in $^7$Li and $^9$Be, then provide predictions for transitions in $^8$Li and $^9$Li. In particular, we address the $2^+\rightarrow1^+$ transition in $^8$Li, for which the reported measured strength exceeds ab initio Green's function Monte Carlo (GFMC) predictions by over an order of magnitude.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2022

Robust ab initio prediction of nuclear electric quadrupole observables by scaling to the charge radius

Meaningful predictions for electric quadrupole (E2) observables from ab initio nuclear theory are necessary, if the ab initio description of collective correlations is to be confronted with experiment, as well as to provide predictive power for unknown E2 observables. However, converged results for E2 observables are notoriously challenging to obtain in ab initio no-core configuration interaction (NCCI) approaches. Matrix elements of the E2 operator are sensitive to the large-distance tails of the nuclear wave function, which converge slowly in an oscillator basis expansion. Similar convergence challenges beset ab initio prediction of the nuclear charge radius. We demonstrate that the convergence patterns of the E2 and radius observables are strongly correlated, and that meaningful predictions for the absolute scale of E2 observables may be made by calibrating to the experimentally-known ground-state charge radius. We illustrate by providing robust ab initio predictions for several E2 transition strengths and quadrupole moments in p-shell nuclei, in cases where experimental results are available for comparison.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2022

Natural orbitals for the ab initio no-core configuration interaction approach

Ab initio no-core configuration interaction (NCCI) calculations for the nuclear many-body problem have traditionally relied upon an antisymmetrized product (Slater determinant) basis built from harmonic oscillator orbitals. The accuracy of such calculations is limited by the finite dimensions which are computationally feasible for the truncated many-body space. We therefore seek to improve the accuracy obtained for a given basis size by optimizing the choice of single-particle orbitals. Natural orbitals, which diagonalize the one-body density matrix, provide a basis which maximizes the occupation of low-lying orbitals, thus accelerating convergence in a configuration-interaction basis, while also possibly providing physical insight into the single-particle structure of the many-body wave function. We describe the implementation of natural orbitals in the NCCI framework, and examine the nature of the natural orbitals thus obtained, the properties of the resulting many-body wave functions, and the convergence of observables. After taking $^3\mathrm{He}$ as an illustrative testbed, we explore aspects of NCCI calculations with natural orbitals for the ground state of the $p$-shell neutron halo nucleus $^6\mathrm{He}$.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2021

Accelerating quantum many-body configuration interaction with directives

Many-Fermion Dynamics-nuclear, or MFDn, is a configuration interaction (CI) code for nuclear structure calculations. It is a platform-independent Fortran 90 code using a hybrid MPI+X programming model. For CPU platforms the application has a robust and optimized OpenMP implementation for shared memory parallelism. As part of the NESAP application readiness program for NERSC's latest Perlmutter system, MFDn has been updated to take advantage of accelerators. The current mainline GPU port is based on OpenACC. In this work we describe some of the key challenges of creating an efficient GPU implementation. Additionally, we compare the support of OpenMP and OpenACC on AMD and NVIDIA GPUs.

cs.DC↗

arXiv2020

From bound states to the continuum

This white paper reports on the discussions of the 2018 Facility for Rare Isotope Beams Theory Alliance (FRIB-TA) topical program "From bound states to the continuum: Connecting bound state calculations with scattering and reaction theory". One of the biggest and most important frontiers in nuclear theory today is to construct better and stronger bridges between bound state calculations and calculations in the continuum, especially scattering and reaction theory, as well as teasing out the influence of the continuum on states near threshold. This is particularly challenging as many-body structure calculations typically use a bound state basis, while reaction calculations more commonly utilize few-body continuum approaches. The many-body bound state and few-body continuum methods use different language and emphasize different properties. To build better foundations for these bridges, we present an overview of several bound state and continuum methods and, where possible, point to current and possible future connections.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2020

Rotational bands beyond the Elliott model

Rotational bands are commonplace in the spectra of atomic nuclei. Inspired by early descriptions of these bands by quadrupole deformations of a liquid drop, Elliott constructed a discrete nucleon representations of $\mathrm{SU}(3)$ from fermionic creation and annihilation operators. Ever since, Elliott's model has been foundational to descriptions of rotation in nuclei. Later work, however, suggested the symplectic extension $\mathrm{Sp}(3,R)$ provides a more unified picture. We decompose no-core shell-model nuclear wave functions into symmetry-defined subspaces for several beryllium isotopes, as well as $^{20}$Ne, using the quadratic Casimirs of both Elliott's $\mathrm{SU}(3)$ and $\mathrm{Sp}(3,R)$. The band structure, delineated by strong $B(E2)$ values, has a more consistent description in $\mathrm{Sp}(3,R)$ rather than $\mathrm{SU}(3)$. {In particular, we confirm previous work finding in some nuclides strongly connected upper and lower bands with the same underlying symplectic structure.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2018

Perspectives on Nuclear Structure and Scattering with the Ab Initio No-Core Shell Model

Nuclear structure and reaction theory are undergoing a major renaissance with advances in many-body methods, strong interactions with greatly improved links to Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), the advent of high performance computing, and improved computational algorithms. Predictive power, with well-quantified uncertainty, is emerging from non-perturbative approaches along with the potential for new discoveries such as predicting nuclear phenomena before they are measured. We present an overview of some recent developments and discuss challenges that lie ahead. Our focus is on explorations of alternative truncation schemes in the harmonic oscillator basis, of which our Japanese--United States collaborative work on the No-Core Monte-Carlo Shell Model is an example. Collaborations with Professor Takaharu Otsuka and his group have been instrumental in these developments.

nucl-th↗