The ground state of a many body Hamiltonian considered in the quasiparticle representation is redefined by accounting for the quasiparticle quadrupole pairing interaction. The residual interaction of the newly defined quasiparticles is treated by the QRPA. Solutions of the resulting equations exhibit specific features. In particular, there is no interaction strength where the first root is vanishing. A comparison with other renormalization methods is presented.
We have developed a fully consistent framework for calculations in the Quasiparticle Random Phase Approximation (QRPA) with $NN$ interactions from the Similarity Renormalization Group (SRG) and other unitary transformations of realistic interactions. The consistency of our calculations, which use the same Hamiltonian to determine the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (HFB) ground states and the residual interaction for QRPA, guarantees an excellent decoupling of spurious strength, without the need for empirical corrections. While work is under way to include SRG-evolved 3N interactions, we presently account for some 3N effects by means of a linearly density-dependent interaction, whose strength is adjusted to reproduce the charge radii of closed-shell nuclei across the whole nuclear chart. As a first application, we perform a survey of the monopole, dipole, and quadrupole response of the calcium isotopic chain and of the underlying single-particle spectra, focusing on how their properties depend on the SRG parameter $lambda$. Unrealistic spin-orbit splittings suggest that spin-orbit terms from the 3N interaction are called for. Nevertheless, our general findings are comparable to results from phenomenological QRPA calculations using Skyrme or Gogny energy density functionals. Potentially interesting phenomena related to low-lying strength warrant more systematic investigations in the future.
The Quasiparticle Random Phase Approximation (QRPA) is used in evaluation of the total muon capture ratesfor the final nuclei participating in double-beta decay. Several variants of the method are used, depending on the size of the single particle model space used, or treatment of the initial bound muon wave function. The resulting capture rates are all reasonably close to each other. In particular, the variant that appears to be most realistic, results in rates in good agreement with the experimental values. There is no necessity for an empirical quenching of the axial current coupling constant $g_A$. Its standard value $g_A$ = 1.27 seems to be adequate.
Inclusive neutrino-nucleus cross sections are calculated using a consistent relativistic mean-field theoretical framework. The weak lepton-hadron interaction is expressed in the standard current-current form, the nuclear ground state is described with the relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov model, and the relevant transitions to excited nuclear states are calculated in the relativistic quasiparticle random phase approximation. Illustrative test calculations are performed for charged-current neutrino reactions on $^{12}$C, $^{16}$O, $^{56}$Fe, and $^{208}$Pb, and results compared with previous studies and available data. Using the experimental neutrino fluxes, the averaged cross sections are evaluated for nuclei of interest for neutrino detectors. We analyze the total neutrino-nucleus cross sections, and the evolution of the contribution of the different multipole excitations as a function of neutrino energy. The cross sections for reactions of supernova neutrinos on $^{16}$O and $^{208}$Pb target nuclei are analyzed as functions of the temperature and chemical potential.
The electron capture process plays an important role in the evolution of the core collapse of a massive star that precedes the supernova explosion. In this study, the electron capture on nuclei in stellar environment is described in the relativistic energy density functional framework, including both the finite temperature and nuclear pairing effects. Relevant nuclear transitions $J^pi = 0^pm, 1^pm, 2^pm$ are calculated using the finite temperature proton-neutron quasiparticle random phase approximation with the density-dependent meson-exchange effective interaction DD-ME2. The pairing and temperature effects are investigated in the Gamow-Teller transition strength as well as the electron capture cross sections and rates for ${}^{44}$Ti and ${}^{56}$Fe in stellar environment. It is found that the pairing correlations establish an additional unblocking mechanism similar to the finite temperature effects, that can allow otherwise blocked single-particle transitions. Inclusion of pairing correlations at finite temperature can significantly alter the electron capture cross sections, even up to a factor of two for ${}^{44}$Ti, while for the same nucleus electron capture rates can increase by more than one order of magnitude. We conclude that for the complete description of electron capture on nuclei both pairing and temperature effects must be taken into account.
The nuclear matrix element (NME) of the neutrinoless double-$beta$ ($0 ubetabeta$) decay is an essential input for determining the neutrino effective mass, if the half-life of this decay is measured. The reliable calculation of this NME has been a long-standing problem because of the diversity of the predicted values of the NME depending on the calculation method. In this paper, we focus on the shell model and the QRPA. The shell model have a rich amount of the many-particle many-hole correlations, and the QRPA can obtain the convergence of the result of calculation with respect to the extension of the single-particle space. It is difficult for the shell model to obtain the convergence of the $0 ubetabeta$ NME with respect to the valence single-particle space. The many-body correlations of the QRPA are insufficient depending on nuclei. We propose a new method to modify phenomenologically the results of the shell model and the QRPA compensating the insufficient point of each method by using the information of other method complementarily. Extrapolations of the components of the $0 ubetabeta$ NME of the shell model are made toward a very large valence single-particle space. We introduce a modification factor to the components of the $0 ubetabeta$ NME of the QRPA. Our modification method gives similar values of the $0 ubetabeta$ NME of the two methods for $^{48}$Ca. The NME of the two-neutrino double-$beta$ decay is also modified in a similar but simpler manner, and the consistency of the two methods is improved.