The Projected Configuration Interaction (PCI) method starts from a collection of mean-field wave functions, and builds up correlated wave functions of good symmetry. It relies on the Generator Coordinator Method (GCM) techniques, but it improves the past approaches by a very efficient method of selecting the basis states. We use the same realistic Hamiltonians and model spaces as the Configuration Interaction (CI) method, and compare the results with the full CI calculations in the sd and pf shell. Examples of 24Mg, 28Si, 48Cr, 52Fe and 56Ni are discussed.
The authors state that results recently published by Carlsson and Toivanen "seem to contradict" the conclusions of some of our work. We show that this statement is based on a misinterpretation of the results of Carlsson and Toivanen.
We present a method based on mean-field states generated by triaxial quadrupole constraints which are projected on particle number and angular momentum and mixed by the generator coordinate method on the quadrupole moment. This method is equivalent to a seven-dimensional GCM calculation, mixing all five degrees of freedom of the quadrupole operator and the gauge angles for protons and neutrons. A first application to Mg24 permits to analyze in detail the effects of triaxial deformations and of K-mixing.
We present a quantum Monte Carlo method with exact projection on parity and angular momentum that is free of sign-problems for seniority-conserving nuclear interactions. This technique allows a microscopic calculation of angular momentum and parity projected nuclear level densities. We present results for the $^{55}$Fe, $^{56}$Fe and $^{57}$Fe isotopes. Signatures of the pairing phase transition are observed in the angular momentum distribution of the nuclear level density.
We report the first study of restoration of rotational symmetry and fluctuations of the quadrupole deformation in the framework of relativistic mean-field models. A model is developed which uses the generator coordinate method to perform configuration mixing calculations of angular momentum projected wave functions, calculated in a relativistic point-coupling model. The geometry is restricted to axially symmetric shapes, and the intrinsic wave functions are generated from the solutions of the constrained relativistic mean-field + BCS equations in an axially deformed oscillator basis. A number …
We present in this paper the general framework of a method which permits to restore the rotational and particle number symmetries of wave functions obtained in Skyrme HF+BCS calculations. This restoration is nothing but a projection of mean-field intrinsic wave functions onto good particle number and good angular momentum. The method allows also to mix projected wave functions. Such a configuration mixing is discussed for sets of HF+BCS intrinsic states generated in constrained calculations with suitable collective variables. This procedure gives collective states which are eigenstates of the …
We study the low-lying collective excitation spectra of the neutron-deficient lead isotopes Pb182-Pb194 by performing a configuration mixing of angular-momentum and particle-number projected self-consistent mean-field states. The same Skyrme interaction SLy6 is used supplemented by a density-dependent zero-range pairing force. This study supports the interpretation of spectra made on the grounds of more schematic models in terms of coexisting spherical, oblate, prolate and superdeformed prolate structures. The model qualitatively reproduces the variation of the spectra with neutron number. Our…
A microscopic angular momentum projection after variation is used to describe quadrupole collectivity in (^{30,32,34}Mg) and (^{32,34,36,38}Si). The Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov states obtained in the quadrupole constrained mean field approach are taken as intrinsic states for the projection. Excitation energies of the first (2^{+}) states and the (B(E2,0^{+}\to 2^{+})) transition probabilities are given. A reasonable agreement with available experimental data is obtained. It is also shown that the mean field picture of those nuclei is strongly modified by the projection.
We perform calculations of the variation after parity projection with Skyrme interaction for ground and excited states of even-even Mg isotopes. Using the 3D real-space representation, we can take into account any kind of deformation; e.g., cluster structure, gamma-deformation. We also perform the full 3D angular momentum projection to obtained rotational spectra and B(E2). In 24Mg, the ground K^pi=0+ and several odd-parity bands are calculated. In 30,32,34Mg, our calculation reproduces a breaking of the N=20 magic number, so-called "Island of inversion" phenomena. Properties of both the groun…
A full three-dimensional angular momentum projection on top of a triaxial relativistic mean-Geld calculation is implemented for the first time. The underlying Lagrangian is a point coupling model and pairing correlations are taken into account by a monopole force. This method is applied for the low-lying excited states in 24Mg. Good agreement with the experimental data is found for the ground state properties. A minimum in the potential energy surface for the 2+ state, with beta = 0.55, gamma = 10 deg, is used as the basis to investigate the rotational energy spectrum as well as the correspond…
The nuclear deformations are of fundamental importance in nuclear physics. Recently we developed a multi-dimensionally constrained relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov (MDCRHB) model, in which all multipole deformations respecting the $V_4$ symmetry can be considered self-consistently. In this work we extend this model by incorporating the angular momentum projection (AMP) and parity projection (PP) to restore the rotational and parity symmetries broken in the mean-field level. This projected-MDCRHB (p-MDCRHB) model enables us to connect certain nuclear spectra to exotic intrinsic shapes such as tr…
The framework of relativistic self-consistent mean-field models is extended to include correlations related to the restoration of broken symmetries and to fluctuations of collective variables. The generator coordinate method is used to perform configuration mixing of angular-momentum and particle-number projected relativistic wave functions. The geometry is restricted to axially symmetric shapes, and the intrinsic wave functions are generated from the solutions of the relativistic mean-field + Lipkin-Nogami BCS equations, with a constraint on the mass quadrupole moment. The model employs a rel…
Recently we have proposed a reliable method to describe the rotational band in a fully microscopic manner. The method has recourse to the configuration-mixing of several cranked mean-field wave functions after the angular-momentum-projection. By applying the method with the Gogny D1S force as an effective interaction, we investigate the moments of inertia of the ground state rotational bands in a number of selected nuclei in the rare earth region. As another application we try to describe, for the first time, the two-neutron aligned band in $^{164}$Er, which crosses the ground state band and b…
By employing the angular momentum projection technique we propose a method to reliably calculate the quantum spectrum of nuclear collective rotation. The method utilizes several cranked mean-field states with different rotational frequencies and they are superposed in the sense of the configuration mixing or the generator coordinate method, after performing the projection; the idea was originally suggested by Peierls-Thouless in 1962. It is found that the spectrum as a result of the configuration mixing does not essentially depend on chosen sets of cranking frequencies if the number of mean-fi…
Inclusion of time-odd components into the wave function is important for reliable description of rotational motion by the angular-momentum-projection method; the cranking procedure with infinitesimal rotational frequency is an efficient way to realize it. In the present work we investigate the effect of this infinitesimal cranking for triaxially deformed nucleus, where there are three independent cranking axes. It is found that the effects of cranking about three axes on the triaxial energy spectrum are quite different and inclusion of all of them considerably modify the resultant spectrum fro…
Four nuclei which are proved to be $2νββ$ emitters ($^{76}$Ge, $^{82}$Se, $^{150}$Nd, $^{238}$U), and four suspected, due to the corresponding Q-values, to have this property ($^{148}$Nd, $^{154}$Sm, $^{160}$Gd, $^{232}$Th), were treated within a proton-neutron quasiparticle random phase approximation (pnQRPA) with a projected spherical single particle basis. The advantage of the present procedure over the ones using a deformed Woods Saxon or Nilsson single particle basis is that the actual pnQRPA states have a definite angular momentum while all the others provide states having only K as a go…
We perform simultaneous analysis of (1) matter radii, (2) $B(E2; 0^+ \rightarrow 2^+ )$ transition probabilities, and (3) excitation energies, $E(2^+)$ and $E(4^+)$, for $^{24-40}$Mg by using the beyond mean-field (BMF) framework with angular-momentum-projected configuration mixing with respect to the axially symmetric $β_2$ deformation with infinitesimal cranking. The BMF calculations successfully reproduce all of the data for $r_{\rm m}$, $B(E2)$, and $E(2^+)$ and $E(4^+)$, indicating that it is quite useful for data analysis, particularly for low-lying states. We also discuss the absolute v…
The framework of relativistic energy density functionals is extended to include correlations related to the restoration of broken symmetries and to fluctuations of collective variables. The generator coordinate method is used to perform configuration mixing of angular-momentum projected wave functions, generated by constrained self-consistent relativistic mean-field calculations for triaxial shapes. The effects of triaxial deformation and of $K$-mixing is illustrated in a study of spectroscopic properties of low-spin states in $^{24}$Mg.
The recently developed structure model that uses the generator coordinate method to perform configuration mixing of angular-momentum projected wave functions, generated by constrained self-consistent relativistic mean-field calculations for triaxial shapes (3DAMP+GCM), is applied in a systematic study of ground states and low-energy collective states in the even-even magnesium isotopes $^{20-40}$Mg. Results obtained using a relativistic point-coupling nucleon-nucleon effective interaction in the particle-hole channel, and a density-independent $δ$-interaction in the pairing channel, are compar…
We perform particle-number projected mean-field study using the recently developed symmetry-projected Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (HFB) equations. Realistic calculations have been performed in sd- and fp-shell nuclei using the shell model empirical intearctions, USD and GXPFIA. It is demonstrated that the mean-field results for energy surfaces, obtained with these shell model interactions, are quite similar to those obtained using the density functional approaches. Further, it is shown that particle-number projected results, for neutron rich isotopes, can lead to different ground-state shapes in c…
In this paper, an improvement has been made on the variation after projection (VAP) method, which is crucial in the calculations of high-spin states. It turns out that, the form of the trial VAP wave function with spin $J$ can be simplified by adopting just one projected state rather than previously adopting all $(2J+1)$ angular momentum projected states for each selected reference state, $|Φ\rangle$. The present calculations show that such simplification still minimizes the angular momentum projected energy up to a very good approximation. In this simplified VAP scheme, one can obtain almost …
Variations in distinct restricted spaces of wave functions generate distinct density functionals. In particular, angular momentum projected Slater determinants define a new density functional, compatible simultaneously with angular momentum quantum number and mean field descriptions.
Deformation is fundamental to understanding nuclear structure. We compare two ways to efficiently realize deformation for many-fermion wavefunctions, the leading SU(3) irrep and the angular-momentum projected Hartree-Fock state. In the absence of single-particle spin-orbit splitting the two are nearly identical. With realistic forces, however, the difference between the two is non-trivial, with the angular-momentum projected Hartree-Fock state better approximating an ``exact'' wavefunction calculated in the fully interacting shell model. The difference is driven almost entirely by the single-p…
Angular-momentum-projected energy surface calculations for A~110 nuclei indicate three distinct energy minima occurring at different angular-momenta. These correspond to normal, super-, and hyper-deformed shapes coexisting in one nucleus. 110Pd is studied in detail, with a quantitative prediction on super- and hyper-deformed spectra by the Projected Shell Model calculation. It is suggested that several other neighboring nuclei in the A-110 mass region, with the neutron number around 64, also exhibit clear super- and hyper-deformation minima.
Variational wave functions based on a Margenau-Brink cluster model with short range and state dependent correlations, and angular momentum projection are obtained for some nuclei with $12 \leq A \leq 16$. The calculations have been carried out starting from the nucleon-nucleon interaction by using the Variational Monte Carlo method. The configuration used consists of three alpha clusters located at the apexes of an equilateral triangle, and an additional cluster, not necessarily of alpha type, forming a tetrahedron. This cluster is located at the top of its height. Short-range and state depend…
Background: The superallowed beta-decay rates provide stringent constraints on physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. To extract crucial information about the electroweak force, small isospin-breaking corrections to the Fermi matrix element of superallowed transitions must be applied. Purpose: We perform systematic calculations of isospin-breaking corrections to superallowed beta-decays and estimate theoretical uncertainties related to the basis truncation, time-odd polarization effects related to the intrinsic symmetry of the underlying Slater determinants, and to the function…
In a calculation of rotated matrix elements with angular momentum projection, the generalized Wick's theorem may encounter a practical problem of combinatorial complexity when the configurations have more than four quasi-particles (qps). The problem can be solved by employing the Pfaffian algorithm generally applicable to calculations of matrix elements for Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov states with any number of qps. This breakthrough in many-body techniques enables studies of high-spin states in a shell-model framework. As the first application of the Pfaffian algorithm, the configuration space of …
[Background] Single-reference density functional theory is very successful in reproducing bulk nuclear properties like binding energies, radii, or quadrupole moments throughout the entire periodic table. Its extension to the multi-reference level allows for restoring symmetries and, in turn, for calculating transition rates. [Purpose] We propose a new no-core-configuration-interaction (NCCI) model treating properly isospin and rotational symmetries. The model is applicable to any nucleus irrespective of its mass and neutron- and proton-number parity. It properly includes polarization effects c…
We benchmark angular-momentum projected{-after-variation} Hartree-Fock calculations as an approximation to full configuration-interaction results in a shell model basis. For such a simple approximation we find reasonably good agreement between excitation spectra, including for many odd-$A$ and odd-odd nuclides. We frequently find shape coexistence, in the form of multiple Hartree-Fock minima; {mixing in shape coexistence, the first step beyond single-reference projected Hartree-Fock}, demonstrably improves the spectrum in the $sd$- and $pf$-shells. The complex spectra of germanium isotopes pre…
A mean-field model with a generalized pairing interaction that accounts for neutron-proton pairing is presented. Both the BCS as well as number-projected solutions of the model are presented. For the latter case the Lipkin-Nogami projection technique was extended to encompass the case of non-separable proton-neutron systems. The influence of the projection on various pairing phases is discussed. In particular, it is shown that number-projection allows for mixing of different pairing phases but, simultanously, acts destructively on the proton-neutron correlations. The basic implications of prot…
We present the first implementation in the $(β,γ)$ plane of the generator coordinate method with full triaxial angular momentum and particle number projected wave functions using the Gogny force. Technical details about the performance of the method and the convergence of the results both in the symmetry restoration and the configuration mixing parts are discussed in detail. We apply the method to the study of $^{24}$Mg, the calculated energies of excited states as well as the transition probabilities are compared to the available experimental data showing a good overall agreement. In addition…
The projected shell model implements shell model configuration mixing in the projected deformed basis. Our analysis on the recently observed superdeformed band in $^{36}$Ar suggests that the neutron and proton 2-quasiparticle and the 4-quasiparticle bands cross the superdeformed ground band at the same angular momentum. This constitutes a picture of band disturbance in which the first and the second band-crossing, commonly seen at separate rotation frequencies in heavy nuclei, occur simultaneously. We also attempt to understand the assumptions of two previous theoretical calculations which int…
The strong quadrupolar component of the Coulomb field between newly formed fission fragments can affect the internal energy of the fragments and their angular momentum. Previous estimates of these effects gave contradictory conclusions about their magnitude. Here we calculate them by solving the time-dependent Hamiltonian equation for the daughter $^{100}$Zr produced in the fission reaction n + $^{235}$U $\rightarrow$ $^{136}$Te + $^{100}$Zr. The Hamiltonian was constructed from the projected angular momentum eigenstates of an aligned deformed mean-field configuration. For typical initial cond…
Two newly observed bands built on a two-quasiparticle configuration in 130Ba have been investigated for the first time with the microscopic projected shell model. The experimental energy spectra and the available electromagnetic transition probabilities are well reproduced. The wobbling character of the higher band is revealed by the angular momentum projected wavefunctions via the K plot and the azimuthal plot. This provides the first strong microscopic evidence for wobbling motion based on a two-quasiparticle configuration in even-even nuclei.
We analyze the accuracy of BCS-based approximations for calculating correlation energies and odd-even energy differences in 2-component fermionic systems with a small number of pairs. The analysis is focused on comparing BCS and projected BCS treatments with the exact solution of the pairing Hamiltonian, considering parameter ranges appropriate for nuclear pairing energies. We find that the projected BCS is quite accurate over the entire range of coupling strengths in spaces of up to about 20 doubly degenerate orbitals. It is also quite accurate for two cases we considered with a more realisti…
Background: Collective excitations of nuclei and their theoretical descriptions provide an insight into the structure of nuclei. Replacing traditional phenomenological interactions with unitarily transformed realistic nucleon-nucleon interactions increases the predictive power of the theoretical calculations for exotic or deformed nuclei. Purpose: Extend the application of realistic interactions to deformed nuclei and compare the performance of different interactions, including phenomenological interactions, for collective excitations in the sd-shell. Method: Ground-state energies and charge r…
Probability distribution of observables from a Bogoliubov vacuum projected onto good particle number: application to scission configurations of an actinide
The validity of the rotational formula used to compute E1 and E3 transition strengths in even-even nuclei is analyzed within the Generator Coordinate Method framework based on mean field wave functions. It turns out that those nuclei with spherical or near spherical shapes the E1 and E3 strengths computed with this formula are strongly underestimated and a sound evaluation of them requires angular momentum projected wave functions. Results for several isotopic chains with proton number equal or near magic numbers are analyzed and compared with experimental data. The use of angular momentum pro…
The pairing-plus-quadrupole Hamiltonian is diagonalized in a symmetry restored basis, i.e., the triaxial quasiparticle-states with angular momentum and particle number projections, and applied for chiral doublet bands in 128Cs. The observed energy spectra and electromagnetic transition probabilities are reproduced well without introducing any parameter. The orientation of the angular momentum in the intrinsic frame is investigated by the distributions of its components on the three principle axes as well as those of its tilted angles. The evolution of the chirality with spin is illustrated and…
The angular momentum projection (AMP) method is implemented in the deformed relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov theory in continuum (DRHBc) with the point-coupling density functional. The wave functions of angular momentum projected states are expanded in terms of the Dirac Woods-Saxon (WS) basis, providing a proper description of the asymptotic behavior of the wave functions for weakly bound nuclei. The contribution of continuum induced by the pairing is considered by treating the pairing correlation with the Bogoliubov transformation. We present the formulae and numerical checks for the DRHBc+AM…
In reactions the wave packets of the emerging products typically are not eigenstates of particle number operators or any other conserved quantities and their properties are entangled. I describe a particle projection technique in parts of space, which eschews the need to evaluate Pfaffians in the case of overlap of generalized Slater determinants or Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov type of vacua. The extension of these formulas for calculating either angular momentum or particle projected energy distributions of the reaction fragments are presented as well. The generalization to simultaneous particle a…
The methods used till now to calculate the neutrinoless double beta decay matrix elements are: the Quasiparticle Random Phase Approximation (QRPA), the Shell Model (SM), the angular momentum projected Hartee-Fock-Bogoliubov approach (HFB) and the Interacting Boson Model (IBM). The different approaches are compared specifically concerning the the angular momenta and parities of the neutron pairs, which are changed into two protons by the $0νββ$ decay. The QRPA and SM involve about the same angular momentum and parity neutron pairs, while the HFB is restricted to $0^{+}, 2^{+}, 4^{+}, ...$, and …
We present a similarity transformation theory based on a polynomial form of a particle-hole pair excitation operator. In the weakly correlated limit, this polynomial becomes an exponential, leading to coupled cluster doubles. In the opposite strongly correlated limit, the polynomial becomes an extended Bessel expansion and yields the projected BCS wavefunction. In between, we interpolate using a single parameter. The effective Hamiltonian is non-hermitian and this Polynomial Similarity Transformation Theory follows the philosophy of traditional coupled cluster, left projecting the transformed …
In many so-called "beyond-mean-field" many-body methods, one creates symmetry-breaking states and then projects out states with good quantum number(s); the most important example is angular momentum. Motivated by the computational intensity of symmetry restoration, we investigate the numerical convergence of two competing methods for angular momentum projection with rotations over Euler angles, the textbook-standard projection through quadrature, and a recently introduced projection through linear algebra. We find well-defined patterns of convergence with increasing number of mesh points (for …
We present the isospin- and angular-momentum-projected nuclear density functional theory (DFT) and its applications to the isospin-breaking corrections to the superallowed beta-decay rates in the vicinity of the N=Z line. A preliminary value obtained for the Cabbibo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element, |V_{ud}|=0.97463(24), agrees well with the recent estimate by Towner and Hardy [Phys. Rev. C{\bf 77}, 025501 (2008)]. We also discuss new opportunities to study the symmetry energy by using the isospin-projected DFT.
