I propose a simple and manageable method that allows for deriving coupling constants of model energy density functionals (EDFs) directly from ab initio calculations performed for finite fermion systems. A proof-of-principle application allows for lin
king properties of finite nuclei, determined by using the nuclear nonlocal Gogny functional, to the coupling constants of the quasilocal Skyrme functional. The method does not rely on properties of infinite fermion systems but on the ab initio calculations in finite systems. It also allows for quantifying merits of different model EDFs in describing the ab initio results.
We calculate properties of the ground and excited states of nuclei in the nobelium region for proton and neutron numbers of 92 <= Z <= 104 and 144 <= N <= 156, respectively. We use three different energy-density-functional (EDF) approaches, based on
covariant, Skyrme, and Gogny functionals, each within two different parameter sets. A comparative analysis of the results obtained for odd-even mass staggerings, quasiparticle spectra, and moments of inertia allows us to identify single-particle and shell effects that are characteristic to these different models and to illustrate possible systematic uncertainties related to using the EDF modelling
We address the question of how to improve the agreement between theoretical nuclear single-particle energies (SPEs) and experiment. Empirically, in doubly magic nuclei, the SPEs can be deduced from spectroscopic properties of odd nuclei that have one
more, or one less neutron or proton. Theoretically, bare SPEs, before being confronted with experiment, must be corrected for the effects of the particle-vibration-coupling (PVC). In the present work, we determine the PVC corrections in a fully self-consistent way. Then, we adjust the SPEs, with PVC corrections included, to empirical data. In this way, the agreement with experiment, on average, improves; nevertheless, large discrepancies still remain. We conclude that the main source of disagreement is still in the underlying mean fields, and not in including or neglecting the PVC corrections.
Background: Models based on using perturbative polarization corrections and mean-field blocking approximation give conflicting results for masses of odd nuclei. Purpose: Systematically investigate the polarization and mean-field models, implemented
within self-consistent approaches that use identical interactions and model spaces, so as to find reasons for the conflicts between them. Methods: For density-dependent interactions and with pairing correlations included, we derive and study links between the mean-field and polarization results obtained for energies of odd nuclei. We also identify and discuss differences between the polarization-correction and full particle-vibration-coupling (PVC) models. Numerical calculations are performed for the mean-field ground-state properties of deformed odd nuclei and then compared to the polarization corrections determined by using the approach that conserves spherical symmetry. Results: We have identified and numerically evaluated self-interaction (SI) energies that are at the origin of different results obtained within the mean-field and polarization-correction approaches. Conclusions: Mean-field energies of odd nuclei are polluted by the SI energies, and this makes them different from those obtained by using polarization-correction methods. A comparison of both approaches allows for the identification and determination of the SI terms, which then can be calculated and removed from the mean-field results, giving the self-interaction-free energies. The simplest deformed mean-field approach that does not break parity symmetry is unable to reproduce full PVC effects.
Background: Following the 2007 precise measurements of monopole strengths in tin isotopes, there has been a continuous theoretical effort to obtain a precise description of the experimental results. Up to now, there is no satisfactory explanation of
why the tin nuclei appear to be significantly softer than 208Pb. Purpose: We determine the influence of finite-range and separable pairing interactions on monopole strength functions in semi-magic nuclei. Methods: We employ self-consistently the Quasiparticle Random Phase Approximation on top of spherical Hartree-Fock-Bogolyubov solutions. We use the Arnoldi method to solve the linear-response problem with pairing. Results: We found that the difference between centroids of Giant Monopole Resonances measured in lead and tin (about 1 MeV) always turns out to be overestimated by about 100%. We also found that the volume incompressibility, obtained by adjusting the liquid-drop expression to microscopic results, is significantly larger than the infinite-matter incompressibility. Conclusions: The zero-range and separable pairing forces cannot induce modifications of monopole strength functions in tin to match experimental data.
Background: The next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N3LO) nuclear energy density functional extends the standard Skyrme functional with new terms depending on higher-order derivatives of densities, introduced to gain better precision in the nuclea
r many-body calculations. A thorough study of the transformation properties of the functional with respect to different symmetries is required, as a step preliminary to the adjustment of the coupling constants. Purpose: Determine to which extent the presence of higher-order derivatives in the functional can be compatible with the continuity equation. In particular, to study the relations between the validity of the continuity equation and invariance of the functional under gauge transformations. Methods: Derive conditions for the validity of the continuity equation in the framework of time-dependent density functional theory. The conditions apply separately to the four spin-isospin channels of the one-body density matrix. Results: We obtained four sets of constraints on the coupling constants of the N3LO energy density functional that guarantee the validity of the continuity equation in all spin-isospin channels. In particular, for the scalar-isoscalar channel, the constraints are the same as those resulting from imposing the standard U(1) local-gauge-invariance conditions. Conclusions: Validity of the continuity equation in the four spin-isospin channels is equivalent to the local-gauge invariance of the energy density functional. For vector and isovector channels, such validity requires the invariance of the functional under local rotations in the spin and isospin spaces.
Condensed Fermi systems with an odd number of particles can be described by means of polarizing external fields having a time-odd character. We illustrate how this works for Fermi gases and atomic nuclei treated by density functional theory or Hartre
e-Fock-Bogoliubov (HFB) theory. We discuss the method based on introducing two chemical potentials for different superfluid components, whereby one may change the particle-number parity of the underlying quasiparticle vacuum. Formally, this method is a variant of non-collective cranking, and the procedure is equivalent to the so-called blocking. We present and exemplify relations between the two-chemical-potential method and the cranking approximation for Fermi gases and nuclei.
In the framework of the Density Functional Theory for superconductors, we study the restoration of the particle number symmetry by means of the projection technique. Conceptual problems are outlined and numerical difficulties are discussed. Both are
related to the fact that neither the many-body Hamiltonian nor the wave function of the system appear explicitly in the Density Functional Theory. Similar obstacles are encountered in self-consistent theories utilizing density-dependent effective interactions.
