1719527
Shell model description of the 14C dating beta decay with Brown-Rho-scaled NN interactions.
We present shell model calculations for the beta decay of 14C to the 14N ground state, treating the states of the A=14 multiplet as two 0p holes in an 16O core. We employ low-momentum nucleon-nucleon (NN) interactions derived from the realistic Bonn-B potential and find that the Gamow-Teller (GT) matrix element is too large to describe the known lifetime. By using a modified version of this potential that incorporates the effects of Brown-Rho scaling medium modifications, we find that the GT matrix element vanishes for a nuclear density around 85% that of nuclear matter. We find that the splitting between the (J(pi),T)=(1(+),0) and (J(pi),T)=(0(+),1) states in 14N is improved using the medium-modified Bonn-B potential and that the transition strengths from excited states of 14C to the 14N ground state are compatible with recent experiments.
7797374
First direct double-β decay Q-value measurement of 82Se in support of understanding the nature of the neutrino.
In anticipation of results from current and future double-β decay studies, we report a measurement resulting in a (82)Se double-β decay Q value of 2997.9(3) keV, an order of magnitude more precise than the currently accepted value. We also present preliminary results of a calculation of the (82)Se neutrinoless double-β decay nuclear matrix element that corrects in part for the small size of the shell model single-particle space. The results of this work are important for designing next generation double-β decay experiments and for the theoretical interpretations of their observations.
119225778
Tensor interaction constraints from beta decay recoil spin asymmetry of trapped atoms
We have measured the angular distribution of recoiling daughter nuclei emitted from the Gamow-Teller {beta} decay of spin-polarized {sup 80}Rb. The asymmetry of this distribution vanishes to lowest order in the standard model (SM) in pure Gamow-Teller decays, producing an observable very sensitive to new interactions. We measure the non-SM contribution to the asymmetry to be A{sub T}=0.015{+-}0.029 (stat) {+-}0.019 (syst), consistent with the SM prediction. We constrain higher-order SM corrections using the measured momentum dependence of the asymmetry, and their remaining uncertainty dominates the systematic error. Future progress in determining the weak magnetism term theoretically or experimentally would reduce the final errors. We describe the resulting constraints on fundamental four-Fermi tensor interactions.
118974414
Low momentum shell model effective interactions with all-order core polarizations
An all-order summation of core-polarization diagrams using the low-momentum nucleon-nucleon interaction V{sub low-k} is presented. The summation is based on the Kirson-Babu-Brown (KBB) induced interaction approach in which the vertex functions are obtained self-consistently by solving a set of nonlinear coupled equations. It is found that the solution of these equations is simplified using V{sub low-k}, which is energy independent, and using the Green's functions in the particle-particle and particle-hole channels. We have applied this approach to the sd-shell effective interactions and find that the results we calculated to all orders by using the KBB summation technique are remarkably similar to those of second-order perturbation theory, the average differences being less than 10%.
56294645
Three-body forces and shell structure in calcium isotopes
Understanding and predicting the formation of shell structure from nuclear forces is a central challenge for nuclear physics. While the magic numbers N = 2, 8, 20 are generally well understood, N = 28 is the first standard magic number that is not reproduced in microscopic theories with two-nucleon forces. In this paper, we show that three-nucleon forces give rise to repulsive interactions between two valence neutrons that are key to explain 48Ca as a magic nucleus, with a high 2+ excitation energy and a concentrated magnetic dipole transition strength. The repulsive three-nucleon mechanism improves the agreement with experimental binding energies. Communicated by Professor Jacek Dobaczewski
30767099
Microscopic restoration of proton-neutron mixed symmetry in weakly collective nuclei
Starting from the microscopic low-momentum nucleon-nucleon interaction V{sub lowk}, we present a systematic shell-model study of magnetic moments and magnetic dipole transition strengths of the basic low-energy one-quadrupole phonon excitations in nearly spherical nuclei. Studying in particular the even-even N=52 isotones from {sup 92}Zr to {sup 100}Cd, we find the predicted evolution of the predominantly proton-neutron nonsymmetric state reveals a restoration of collective proton-neutron mixed-symmetry structure near midshell. This provides a quantitative explanation for the existence of pronounced collective mixed-symmetry structures in weakly collective nuclei.
119250162
Microscopic optical potential from chiral nuclear forces
The energy- and density-dependent single-particle potential for nucleons is constructed in a medium of infinite isospin-symmetric nuclear matter starting from realistic nuclear interactions derived within the framework of chiral effective field theory. The leading-order terms from both two- and three-nucleon forces give rise to real, energy-independent contributions to the nucleon self-energy. The Hartree-Fock contribution from the two-nucleon force is attractive and strongly momentum dependent, in contrast to the contribution from the three-nucleon force which provides a nearly constant repulsive mean field that grows approximately linearly with the nuclear density. Together, the leading-order perturbative contributions yield an attractive single-particle potential that is however too weak compared to phenomenology. Second-order contributions from two- and three-body forces then provide the additional attraction required to reach the phenomenological depth. The imaginary part of the optical potential, which is positive (negative) for momenta below (above) the Fermi momentum, arises at second-order and is nearly inversion-symmetric about the Fermi surface when two-nucleon interactions alone are present. The imaginary part is strongly absorptive and requires the inclusion of an effective mass correction as well as self-consistent single-particle energies to attain qualitative agreement with phenomenology.
119203595
Second-order quasiparticle interaction in nuclear matter with chiral two-nucleon interactions
We employ Landauʼs theory of normal Fermi liquids to study the quasiparticle interaction in nuclear matter in the vicinity of saturation density. Realistic low-momentum nucleon–nucleon interactions evolved from the Idaho N3LO chiral two-body potential are used as input potentials. We derive for the first time exact results for the central part of the quasiparticle interaction computed to second order in perturbation theory, from which we extract the L=0 and L=1 Landau parameters as well as some relevant bulk equilibrium properties of nuclear matter. The accuracy of the intricate numerical calculations is tested with analytical results derived for scalar–isoscalar boson exchange and (modified) pion exchange at second order. The explicit dependence of the Fermi liquid parameters on the low-momentum cutoff scale is studied, which provides important insight into the scale variation of phase-shift equivalent two-body potentials. This leads naturally to explore the role that three-nucleon forces must play in the effective interaction between two quasiparticles.
59421221
Chiral nuclear dynamics with three-body forces ☆
We review recent progress in implementing high-precision chiral two- and three-body forces in nuclear many-body systems beyond light nuclei. We begin with applications to finite nuclei, which we study through the nuclear shell model and self-consistent mean field theory. We then turn our attention to infinite nuclear matter treated within the framework of Landau’s theory of normal Fermi liquids.
58934407
Charged-current reactions in the supernova neutrino-sphere
We calculate neutrino absorption rates due to charged-current reactions $\nu_e+n \rightarrow e^- + p $ and $\bar{\nu}_e+p \rightarrow e^+ + n $ in the outer regions of a newly born neutron star called the neutrino-sphere. To improve on recent work which has shown that nuclear mean fields enhance the $\nu_e$ cross-section and suppress the $\bar{\nu}_e$ cross-section, we employ realistic nucleon-nucleon interactions that fit measured scattering phase shifts. Using these interactions we calculate the momentum-, density-, and temperature-dependent nucleon self-energies in the Hartree-Fock approximation. A potential derived from chiral effective field theory and a pseudo-potential constructed to reproduce nucleon-nucleon phase shifts at the mean-field level are used to study the equilibrium proton fraction and the charged-current rates are studied in detail. We compare our results to earlier calculations obtained using phenomenological mean-field models and to those obtained in the virial expansion valid at low density. We find that for typical ambient conditions in the neutrino-sphere, $T=5-10$ MeV and $\rho =10^{11}-10^{13}$ g/cm$^3$, the difference between the $\nu_{e}$ and $\bar{\nu}_e$ absorption rates is much larger than predicted earlier. Our results have important implications for heavy-element nucleosynthesis in supernovae and for supernova neutrino detection.
117291846
Density-dependent nuclear interactions and the beta decay of 14C: chiral three-nucleon forces and Brown-Rho scaling
We study the role of density-dependent low-momentum nucleon-nucleon interactions in describing the anomalously long beta decay lifetime of 14C. We approach this problem both from the perspective of chiral effective field theory, in which genuine three-body forces generate an effective density-dependent two-body interaction, as well as from the perspective of Brown-Rho scaling, in which the masses and form factor cutoffs in one-boson-exchange interactions are modified in a dense nuclear medium due to the partial restoration of chiral symmetry. The beta decay transition of 14C to the ground state of 14N is calculated within the shell model using a model space consisting of two 0p-shell holes within a closed 16O core. The effective 0p-shell interaction is calculated up to second order in perturbation theory with single-particle energies extracted from experiment. We find that both three-nucleon forces and Brown-Rho scaling medium modifications give qualitatively similar results not only for the ground state to ground state Gamow-Teller transition but also for Gamow-Teller transitions from excited states of 14C to the ground state of 14N. In this way, it is observed that at a low-momentum scale of V_(low-k) = 2.1 fm-1, medium-modifications of the nuclear force play an essential role in increasing the lifetime of 14C from a few minutes to an archaeologically long one of 5730 years.