arXiv subjects

Z. X. Ren

Publications and source records attributed to Z. X. Ren.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Octupole deformation in even-even Ra isotopes from covariant density functional theory with localized exchange terms in a three-dimensional lattice space

The covariant density functional theory in a three-dimensional lattice space is extended to the PCF-PK1 functional with localized exchange terms and is employed to study the nuclear shape evolution of even-even Ra isotopes. Well-developed axial octupole deformations are found for the ground states of $^{222-228}$Ra with no evidence of triaxial shapes. The energy gain of octupole deformation is employed to assess the stability of octupole deformation, with relatively larger values observed for $^{224}$Ra and $^{226}$Ra. A simplified analysis method based on the single-particle spectrum at the octupole deformation parameter $β_3=0$ is proposed to identify the key single-particle levels driving octupole deformation. It is found that the $m_z=3/2$ orbitals from $ν1j_{15/2}$ and $ν2g_{9/2}$ and the $m_z=1/2$ orbitals from $π1i_{13/2}$ and $π2f_{7/2}$, play crucial roles in the formation of octupole deformation in Ra isotopes. Furthermore, increasing the tensor coupling strength promotes octupole deformation, whereas reducing the pairing strength stabilizes it. Our results provide a microscopic understanding of octupole deformation in the Ra isotopic chain and highlight the importance of both tensor coupling and pairing correlations in reflection-asymmetric nuclear shapes.

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arXiv2025

Relativistic orbital-free kinetic energy density functional for one-particle nuclear systems

This letter aims to derive the exact relativistic orbital-free kinetic energy density functional for one-particle nuclear systems in one-dimensional case. The kinetic energy is expressed as a functional of both vector and scalar densities. The functional derivatives of the kinetic energy density functional are also derived. Both the kinetic energy density functional and its functional derivatives are validated to be correct. This serves as a foundation for further exploration of more general relativistic orbital-free kinetic energy density functionals.

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arXiv2024

Machine learning orbital-free density functional theory: taming quantum shell effects in deformed nuclei

Accurate description of deformed atomic nuclei by the orbital-free density functional theory has been a longstanding textbook challenge, due to the difficulty in accounting for the intricate quantum shell effects that are present in such systems. Orbital-free density functional theory is, in principle, capable of describing all effects of nuclear systems, as guaranteed by the Hohenberg-Kohn theorem. However, from a microscopic perspective, shell and deformation effects are believed to be intrinsically connected to single-orbital structures, posing a significant challenge for orbital-free approaches. Here, we develop a machine learning approach to the orbital-free density functional theory, which is capable of achieving a high level of accuracy in describing the ground-state properties and potential energy curves for both spherical $^{16}$O and deformed $^{20}$Ne nuclei. This is the inaugural instance where a fully orbital-free energy density functional has succeeded in taming the complex shell effects in deformed nuclei. It demonstrates that the orbital-free energy density functional, which is directly based on the Hohenberg-Kohn theorem, is not only a theoretical concept but also a practical one for nuclear systems.

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arXiv2024

Ternary quasifission in collisions of actinide nuclei

The microscopic framework of time-dependent covariant density functional theory is applied to a systematic study of ternary quasifission in collisions of pairs of $^{238}$U nuclei. It is shown that the inclusion of octupole degree of freedom in the case of head-to-head collisions, extends the energy window in which ternary quasifission occurs, and greatly enhances the number of nucleons contained in a middle fragment. Dynamical pairing correlations, included here in the time-dependent BCS approximation, prevent the occurrence of ternary quasifission in head-to-head collisions, and have an effect on the location of the energy window in which a middle fragment is formed in tail-to-tail collisions. In the latter case, as well as for tail-to-side collisions, the formation of very heavy neutron-rich systems in certain energy intervals is predicted.

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arXiv2023

Effects of rotation and valence nucleons in molecular-like $α$-chain nuclei

Effects of rotation and valence nucleons in molecular-like linear $α$-chain nuclei are analyzed using a three-dimensional lattice cranking model based on covariant density functional theory. The structure of $^{16}$C and $^{16}$Ne is investigated as a function of rotational frequency. The valence nucleons, with respect to the 3$α$ linear chain core of $^{12}$C, at low frequency occupy the $π$ molecular orbital. With increasing rotational frequency these nucleons transition from the $π$ orbital to the $σ$ molecular orbital, thus stabilizing the 3$α$ linear chain structure. It is predicted that the valence protons in $^{16}$Ne change occupation from the $π$ to the $σ$ molecular orbital at $\hbarω\approx 1.3$ MeV, a lower rotational frequency compared to $\hbarω\approx 1.7$ MeV for the valence neutrons in $^{16}$C. The same effects of valence protons are found in $^{20}$Mg, compared to the four valence neutrons in $^{20}$O. The model is also used to examine the effect of alignment of valence nucleons on the relative positions and size of the three $α$-clusters in $^{16}$C and $^{16}$Ne.

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arXiv2022

Fission dynamics, dissipation and clustering at finite temperature

The saddle-to-scission dynamics of the induced fission process is explored using a microscopic finite-temperature model based on time-dependent nuclear density functional theory (TDDFT), that allows to follow the evolution of local temperature along fission trajectories. Starting from a temperature that corresponds to the experimental excitation energy of the compound system, the model propagates the nucleons along isentropic paths toward scission. For the four illustrative cases of induced fission of $^{240}$Pu, $^{234}$U, $^{244}$Cm, and $^{250}$Cf, characteristic fission trajectories are considered, and the partition of the total energy into various kinetic and potential energy contributions at scission is analyzed, with special emphasis on the energy dissipated along the fission path and the prescission kinetic energy. The model is also applied to the dynamics of neck formation and rupture, characterized by the formation of few-nucleon clusters in the low-density region between the nascent fragments.

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arXiv2022

Dynamical synthesis of 4He in the scission phase of nuclear fission

In the exothermic process of fission decay, an atomic nucleus splits into two or more independent fragments. Several aspects of nuclear fission are not properly understood, in particular the formation of the neck between the nascent fragments, and the subsequent mechanism of scission into two or more independent fragments. Using an implementation of time-dependent density functional theory, based on a relativistic energy density functional and including pairing correlations, we analyze the final phase of the process of induced fission of $^{240}$Pu, and show that the time-scale of neck formation coincides with the assembly of two $α$-like clusters (less than 1 zs = 10$^{-21}$ s). Because of its much larger binding energy, the dynamical synthesis of 4He in the neck predominates over other light clusters, e.g., $^3$H and $^6$He. At the instant of scission the neck ruptures exactly between the two $α$-like clusters, which separate because of the Coulomb repulsion and are eventually absorbed by the two emerging fragments. The newly proposed mechanism of light charged clusters formation at scission provides a natural explanation of ternary fission.

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arXiv2022

Microscopic analysis of induced nuclear fission dynamics

The dynamics of low-energy induced fission is explored using a consistent microscopic framework that combines the time-dependent generator coordinate method (TDGCM) and time-dependent nuclear density functional theory (TDDFT). While the former presents a fully quantum mechanical approach that describes the entire fission process as an adiabatic evolution of collective degrees of freedom, the latter models the dissipative dynamics of the final stage of fission by propagating the nucleons independently toward scission and beyond. By combining the two methods, based on the same nuclear energy density functional and pairing interaction, we perform an illustrative calculation of the charge distribution of yields and total kinetic energy for induced fission of $^{240}$Pu. For the saddle-to-scission phase a set of initial points for the TDDFT evolution is selected along an iso-energy curve beyond the outer fission barrier on the deformation energy surface, and the TDGCM is used to calculate the probability that the collective wave function reaches these points at different times. Fission observables are computed with both methods and compared with available data. The relative merits of including quantum fluctuations (TDGCM) and the one-body dissipation mechanism (TDDFT) are discussed.

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arXiv2022

Nuclear energy density functionals from machine learning

Machine learning is employed to build an energy density functional for self-bound nuclear systems for the first time. By learning the kinetic energy as a functional of the nucleon density alone, a robust and accurate orbital-free density functional for nuclei is established. Self-consistent calculations that bypass the Kohn-Sham equations provide the ground-state densities, total energies, and root-mean-square radii with a high accuracy in comparison with the Kohn-Sham solutions. No existing orbital-free density functional theory comes close to this performance for nuclei. Therefore, it provides a new promising way for future developments of nuclear energy density functionals for the whole nuclear chart.

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arXiv2022

Dynamics of rotation in chiral nuclei

The dynamics of chiral nuclei is investigated for the first time with the time-dependent and tilted axis cranking covariant density functional theories on a three-dimensional space lattice in a microscopic and self-consistent way. The experimental energies of the two pairs of the chiral doublet bands in $^{135}$Nd are well reproduced without any adjustable parameters beyond the well-defined density functional. A novel mechanism, i.e., chiral precession, is revealed from the microscopic dynamics of the total angular momentum in the body-fixed frame, whose harmonicity is associated with a transition from the planar into aplanar rotations with the increasing spin. This provides a fully microscopic and dynamical view to understand the chiral excitations in nuclei.

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arXiv2020

An efficient solution for Dirac equation in 3D lattice space with the conjugate gradient method

An efficient method, preconditioned conjugate gradient method with a filtering function (PCG-F), is proposed for solving iteratively the Dirac equation in 3D lattice space for nuclear systems. The filtering function is adopted to avoid the variational collapsed problem and a momentum-dependent preconditioner is introduced to promote the efficiency of the iteration. The PCG-F method is demonstrated in solving the Dirac equation with given spherical and deformed Woods-Saxon potentials. The solutions given by the inverse Hamiltonian method in 3D lattice space and the shooting method in radial coordinate space are reproduced with a high accuracy. In comparison with the existing inverse Hamiltonian method, the present PCG-F method is much faster in the convergence of the iteration, in particular for deformed potentials. It may also provide a promising way to solve the relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov equation iteratively in the future.

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arXiv2020

Time-dependent covariant density functional theory in 3D lattice space: benchmark calculation for 16O + 16O reaction

Time-dependent covariant density functional theory with the successful density functional PCPK1 is developed in a three-dimensional coordinate space without any symmetry restrictions, and benchmark calculations for the 16O + 16O reaction are performed systematically. The relativistic kinematics, the conservation laws of the momentum, total energy, and particle number, as well as the time-reversal invariance are examined and confirmed to be satisfied numerically. Two primary applications including the dissipation dynamics and above-barrier fusion cross sections are illustrated. The obtained results are in good agreement with the ones given by the nonrelativistic time-dependent density functional theory and the data available. This demonstrates that the newly developed time-dependent covariant density functional theory could serve as an effective approach for the future studies of nuclear dynamical processes.

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arXiv2020

Toward a bridge between relativistic and nonrelativistic density functional theories for nuclei

The nonrelativistic reduction of the self-consistent covariant density functional theory is realized for the first time with the similarity renormalization group (SRG) method. The reduced nonrelativistic Hamiltonian and densities are calculated by solving the corresponding flow equations with a novel expansion in terms of the inverse of the Dirac effective mass. The efficiency and accuracy of this newly proposed framework have been demonstrated for several typical spherical nuclei. It is found that the exact solutions of the total energies, traces of vector and scalar densities, and the root-mean-square radii are reproduced quite well for all nuclei. This allows one to directly compare and bridge the relativistic and nonrelativistic nuclear energy density functional theories in the future.

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arXiv2020

Toroidal states in $^{28}$Si with covariant density functional theory in 3D lattice space

The toroidal states in $^{28}$Si with spin extending to extremely high are investigated with the cranking covariant density functional theory on a 3D lattice. Thirteen toroidal states with spin $I$ ranging from 0 to 56$\hbar$ are obtained, and their stabilities against particle emissions are studied by analyzing the density distributions and potentials. The excitation energies of the toroidal states at $I=28$, 36, 44$\hbar$ reasonably reproduce the observed three resonances extracted from the 7-$α$ de-excitation of $^{28}$Si. The $α$ clustering of these toroidal states is supported by the $α$-localization function.

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arXiv2020

Dynamics of the linear-chain alpha cluster in microscopic time-dependent relativistic density functional theory

The time-dependent covariant density functional theory in 3D lattice space has been developed and applied to investigate the microscopic dynamics of the linear-chain cluster states for carbon isotopes in the reactions $^4$He$+^8$Be and $^4$He$+^{10}$Be without any symmetry assumptions. By examining the density distribution and its time evolutions, the structure and dynamics of the linear-chain states are analyzed, and the quasiperiodic oscillations of the clusters are revealed. For $^4$He$+^8$Be, the linear-chain states evolve to a triangular configuration and then to a more compact shape. In contrast, for $^4$He$+^{10}$Be, the lifetime of the linear-chain states is much more prolonged due to the dynamical isospin effects by the valence neutrons which slow down the longitudinal oscillations of the clusters and persist the linear-chain states. The dependence of the linear chain survival time and dynamical isospin effects on impact parameters have been illustrated as well.

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arXiv2019

Hamiltonian flow equations for a Dirac particle in large scalar and vector potentials

An efficient solution of the Dirac Hamiltonian flow equations has been proposed through a novel expandsion with the inverse of the Dirac effective mass. The efficiency and accuracy of this new expansion have been demonstrated by reducing a radial Dirac Hamiltonian with large scalar and vector potentials to two nonrelativistic Hamiltonians corresponding to particles and antiparticles, respectively. By solving the two nonrelativistic Hamiltonians, it is found that the exact solutions of the Dirac equation, for both particles and antiparticles, can be reproduced with a high accuracy up to only a few lowest order terms in the expansion. This could help compare and bridge the relativistic and nonrelativistic nuclear energy density functional theories in the future.

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arXiv2018

Stability of the linear chain structure for $^{12}$C in covariant density functional theory on a 3D lattice

The stability of the linear chain structure of three $α$ clusters for $^{12}$C against the bending and fission is investigated in the cranking covariant density functional theory, in which the equation of motion is solved on a 3D lattice with the inverse Hamiltonian and the Fourier spectral methods. Starting from a twisted three $α$ initial configuration, it is found that the linear chain structure is stable when the rotational frequency is within the range of $\sim$2.0 MeV to $\sim$2.5 MeV. Beyond this range, the final states are not stable against fission. By examining the density distributions and the occupation of single-particle levels, however, these fissions are found to arise from the occupation of unphysical continuum with large angular momenta. To properly remove these unphysical continuum, a damping function for the cranking term is introduced. Eventually, the stable linear chain structure could survive up to the rotational frequency $\sim$3.5 MeV, but the fission still occurs when the rotational frequency approaches to $\sim$4.0 MeV.

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arXiv2018

Evidence for high excitation energy resonances in the 7 alpha disassembly of $^{28}$Si

The excitation function for the 7 alpha de-excitation of $^{28}$Si nuclei excited to high excitation energies in the collisions of 35 MeV/nucleon $^{28}$Si with $^{12}$C reveals resonance structures that may indicate the population of high spin toroidal isomers such as those predicted by a number of recent theoretical calculations. This interpretation is supported by extended theoretical analyses.

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