No Arabic abstract
In the present work, the isovector dipole responses, both in the resonance region and in the low-energy sector, are investigated using the microscopic nuclear Energy Density Functionals (EDFs). The self-consistent QRPA model based on Skyrme Hartree Fock BCS approach is applied to study the evolution of the isovector dipole strength by increasing neutron number and temperature. First, the isovector dipole strength and excitation energies are investigated for the Ni isotopic chain at zero temperature. The evolution of the low-energy dipole strength is studied as a function of the neutron number. In the second part, the temperature dependence of the isovector dipole excitations is studied using the self-consistent finite temperature QRPA, below and above the critical temperatures. It is shown that new excited states become possible due to the thermally occupied states above the Fermi level, and opening of the new excitations channels. In addition, temperature leads to fragmentation of the low-energy strength around the neutron separation energies, and between 9 and 12 MeV. We find that the cumulative sum of the strength below E$leq12$ MeV decreases in open-shell nuclei due to the vanishing of the pairing correlations as temperature increases up to T=1 MeV. The analysis of the transition densities in the low-energy region shows that the proton and neutron transition densities display a mixed pattern: both isoscalar and isovector motion of protons and neutrons are obtained inside nuclei, while the neutron transition density is dominant at the surface region.
The relativistic and nonrelativistic finite temperature proton-neutron quasiparticle random phase approximation (FT-PNQRPA) methods are developed to study the interplay of the pairing and temperature effects on the Gamow-Teller excitations in open-shell nuclei, as well as to explore the model dependence of the results by using two rather different frameworks for effective nuclear interactions. The Skyrme-type functional SkM* is employed in the nonrelativistic framework, while the density-dependent meson-exchange interaction DD-ME2 is implemented in the relativistic approach. Both the isoscalar and isovector pairing interactions are taken into account within the FT-PNQRPA. Model calculations show that below the critical temperatures the Gamow-Teller excitations display a sensitivity to both the finite temperature and pairing effects, and this demonstrates the necessity for implementing both in the theoretical framework. The established FT-PNQRPA opens perspectives for the future complete and consistent description of astrophysically relevant weak interaction processes in nuclei at finite temperature such as $beta$-decays, electron capture, and neutrino-nucleus reactions.
Magnetic dipole (M1) excitations build not only a fundamental mode of nucleonic transitions, but they are also relevant for nuclear astrophysics applications. We have established a theory framework for description of M1 transitions based on the relativistic nuclear energy density functional. For this purpose the relativistic quasiparticle random phase approximation (RQRPA) is established using density dependent point coupling interaction DD-PC1, supplemented with the isovector-pseudovector interaction channel in order to study unnatural parity transitions. The introduced framework has been validated using the M1 sum rule for core-plus-two-nucleon systems, and employed in studies of the spin, orbital, isoscalar and isovector M1 transition strengths, that relate to the electromagnetic probe, in magic nuclei $^{48}$Ca and $^{208}$Pb, and open shell nuclei $^{42}$Ca and $^{50}$Ti. In these systems, the isovector spin-flip M1 transition is dominant, mainly between one or two spin-orbit partner states. It is shown that pairing correlations have a significant impact on the centroid energy and major peak position of the M1 mode. The M1 excitations could provide an additional constraint to improve nuclear energy density functionals in the future studies.
Background: An accurate description of nuclear pairing gaps is extremely important for understanding static and dynamic properties of the inner crusts of neutron stars and to explain their cooling process. Purpose: We plan to study the behavior of the pairing gaps $Delta_F$ as a function of the Fermi momentum $k_F$ for neutron and nuclear matter in all relevant angular momentum channels where superfluidity is believed to naturally emerge. The calculations will employ realistic chiral nucleon-nucleon potentials with the inclusion of three-body forces and self-energy effects. Methods: The superfluid states of neutron and nuclear matter are studied by solving the BCS gap equation for chiral nuclear potentials using the method suggested by Khodel et al., where the original gap equation is replaced by a coupled set of equations for the dimensionless gap function $chi(p)$ defined by $Delta(p) = Delta_F chi(p)$ and a non-linear algebraic equation for the gap magnitude $Delta_F = Delta(p_F)$ at the Fermi surface. This method is numerically stable even for small pairing gaps, such as that encountered in the coupled $^3PF_2$ partial wave. Results: We have successfully applied Khodels method to singlet ($S$) and coupled channel ($SD$ and $PF$) cases in neutron and nuclear matter. Our calculations agree with other ab-initio approaches, where available, and provide crucial inputs for future applications in superfluid systems.
The properties of the nuclear isoscaling at finite temperature are investigated and the extent to which its parameter $alpha$ holds information on the symmetry energy is examined. We show that, although finite temperature effects invalidate the analytical formulas that relate the isoscaling parameter $alpha$ to those of the mass formula, the symmetry energy remains the main ingredient that dictates the behavior of $alpha$ at finite temperatures, even for very different sources. This conclusion is not obvious as it is not true in the vanishing temperature limit, where analytical formulas are available. Our results also reveal that different statistical ensembles lead to essentially the same conclusions based on the isoscaling analysis, for the temperatures usually assumed in theoretical calculations in the nuclear multifragmentation process.
A low-energy magnetic dipole $(M1)$ spin-scissors resonance (SSR) located just below the ordinary orbital scissors resonance (OSR) was recently predicted in deformed nuclei within the Wigner Function Moments (WFM) approach. We analyze this prediction using fully self-consistent Skyrme Quasiparticle Random Phase Approximation (QRPA) method. Skyrme forces SkM*, SVbas and SG2 are implemented to explore SSR and OSR in $^{160,162,164}$Dy and $^{232}$Th. Accuracy of the method is justified by a good description of M1 spin-flip giant resonance. The calculations show that isotopes $^{160,162,164}$Dy indeed have at 1.5-2.4 MeV (below OSR) $I^{pi}K=1^+1$ states with a large $M1$ spin strength ($K$ is the projection of the total nuclear moment to the symmetry z-axis). These states are almost fully exhausted by $pp[411uparrow, 411downarrow]$ and $nn[521uparrow, 521downarrow]$ spin-flip configurations corresponding to $pp[2d_{3/2}, 2d_{5/2}]$ and $nn[2f_{5/2}, 2f_{7/2}]$ structures in the spherical limit. So the predicted SSR is actually reduced to low-orbital (l=2,3) spin-flip states. Following our analysis and in contradiction with WFM spin-scissors picture, deformation is not the principle origin of the low-energy spin $M1$ states but only a factor affecting their features. The spin and orbital strengths are generally mixed and exhibit the interference: weak destructive in SSR range and strong constructive in OSR range. In $^{232}$Th, the $M1$ spin strength is found very small. Two groups of $I^{pi}=1^+$ states observed experimentally at 2.4-4 MeV in $^{160,162,164}$Dy and at 2-4 MeV in $^{232}$Th are mainly explained by fragmentation of the orbital strength. Distributions of nuclear currents in QRPA states partly correspond to the isovector orbital-scissors flow but not to spin-scissors one.