An official website of the United States government
Abstract We evaluate the allowed $$\beta^-$$-decay properties of nuclei with $Z = 8$$–$$15$ systematically under the framework of the nuclear shell model using the valence space Hamiltonians derived from modern ab initio methods, such as in-medium similarity renormalization group and coupled-cluster theory. For comparison we also show results obtained with fitted interaction derived from chiral effective field theory and phenomenological universal $sd$-shell Hamiltonian version B interaction. We have performed calculations for O $$\rightarrow$$ F, F $$\rightarrow$$ Ne, Ne $$\rightarrow$$ Na, Na $$\rightarrow$$ Mg, Mg $$\rightarrow$$ Al, Al $$\rightarrow$$ Si, Si $$\rightarrow$$ P, and P $$\rightarrow$$ S transitions. Theoretical results for $B(GT)$, $$\log ft$$ values, and half-lives are discussed and compared with the available experimental data.
more »
« less
This content will become publicly available on September 1, 2026
Connecting relativistic density functional theory to microscopic calculations
The development of systematic effective field theories (EFTs) for nuclear forces and advances in solving the nuclear many-body problem have greatly improved our understanding of dense nuclear matter and the structure of finite nuclei. For global nuclear calculations, density functional theories (DFTs) have been developed to reduce the complexity and computational cost required in describing nuclear systems. However, DFT often makes approximations and assumptions about terms included in the functional, which may introduce systematic uncertainties compared to microscopic calculations using EFTs. In this work, we investigate possible avenues of improving nuclear DFT using nonlinear relativistic mean-field (RMF) theory. We explore the impact of RMF model extensions by fitting the nonlinear RMF model to predictions of nuclear matter and selected closed-shell nuclei using four successful chiral EFT Hamiltonians. We find that these model extensions are impactful and important in capturing the physics present within chiral Hamiltonians, particularly for charge radii and neutron skins of closed-shell nuclei. However, there are additional effects that are not captured within the RMF model, particularly within the isoscalar sector of RMF theory. Additional model extensions and the reliability of the nonlinear RMF model are discussed.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 1927130
- PAR ID:
- 10649183
- Publisher / Repository:
- APS
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Physical Review C
- Volume:
- 112
- Issue:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 2469-9985
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Mean-field theories have proven to be efficient tools for exploring diverse phases of matter, complementing alternative methods that are more precise but also more computationally demanding. Conventional mean-field theories often fall short in capturing quantum fluctuations, which restricts their applicability to systems with significant quantum effects. In this article, we propose an improved mean-field theory, density-matrix mean-field theory (DMMFT). DMMFT constructs effective Hamiltonians, incorporating quantum environments shaped by entanglements, quantified by the reduced density matrices. Therefore, it offers a systematic and unbiased approach to account for the effects of fluctuations and entanglements in quantum ordered phases. As demonstrative examples, we show that DMMFT can not only quantitatively evaluate the renormalization of order parameters induced by quantum fluctuations, but can also detect the topological quantum phases. Additionally, we discuss the extensions of DMMFT for systems at finite temperatures and those with disorders. Our work provides an efficient approach to explore phases exhibiting unconventional quantum orders, which can be particularly beneficial for investigating frustrated spin systems in high spatial dimensions.more » « less
-
Abstract Ab initio calculations have an essential role in our fundamental understanding of quantum many-body systems across many subfields, from strongly correlated fermions1–3to quantum chemistry4–6and from atomic and molecular systems7–9to nuclear physics10–14. One of the primary challenges is to perform accurate calculations for systems where the interactions may be complicated and difficult for the chosen computational method to handle. Here we address the problem by introducing an approach called wavefunction matching. Wavefunction matching transforms the interaction between particles so that the wavefunctions up to some finite range match that of an easily computable interaction. This allows for calculations of systems that would otherwise be impossible owing to problems such as Monte Carlo sign cancellations. We apply the method to lattice Monte Carlo simulations15,16of light nuclei, medium-mass nuclei, neutron matter and nuclear matter. We use high-fidelity chiral effective field theory interactions17,18and find good agreement with empirical data. These results are accompanied by insights on the nuclear interactions that may help to resolve long-standing challenges in accurately reproducing nuclear binding energies, charge radii and nuclear-matter saturation in ab initio calculations19,20.more » « less
-
We present a new implementation for computing spin–orbit couplings (SOCs) within a time-dependent density-functional theory (TD-DFT) framework in the standard spin-conserving formulation as well in the spin–flip variant (SF-TD-DFT). This approach employs the Breit–Pauli Hamiltonian and Wigner–Eckart’s theorem applied to the reduced one-particle transition density matrices, together with the spin–orbit mean-field treatment of the two-electron contributions. We use a state-interaction procedure and compute the SOC matrix elements using zero-order non-relativistic states. Benchmark calculations using several closed-shell organic molecules, diradicals, and a single-molecule magnet illustrate the efficiency of the SOC protocol. The results for organic molecules (described by standard TD-DFT) show that SOCs are insensitive to the choice of the functional or basis sets, as long as the states of the same characters are compared. In contrast, the SF-TD-DFT results for small diradicals (CH 2 , [Formula: see text], SiH 2 , and [Formula: see text]) show strong functional dependence. The spin-reversal energy barrier in a Fe(III) single-molecule magnet computed using non-collinear SF-TD-DFT (PBE0, ωPBEh/cc-pVDZ) agrees well with the experimental estimate.more » « less
