Role of the isovector spin-orbit potential in mitigating the CREX-PREX dilemma

Abstract

Pioneering electroweak measurements of the neutron skin thickness in lead-208 and calcium-48 are challenging our understanding of nuclear dynamics. Many theoretical models suggest that the slope of the symmetry energy controls the development of a neutron skin in neutron-rich nuclei. This led to the expectation that if lead-208 exhibits a large neutron skin, calcium-48 should as well. Given that the PREX collaboration reported a relatively thick neutron skin in lead, we anticipated that calcium would also have a significant neutron skin. Instead, the CREX collaboration reported a thin neutron skin in calcium. Although many suggestions have been proposed, the ``CREX-PREX dilemma" remains unsolved. Recently, an intriguing scenario has emerged, suggesting that an enhanced isovector spin-orbit interaction could simultaneously account for both results. Following this approach, we performed relativistic mean-field calculations with an increased isovector spin-orbit potential. Our findings indicate that while this modification significantly affects the structure of calcium-48, it has only a marginal impact on lead-208, thereby bringing the results into better agreement with experiment. However, the strong enhancement required to mitigate the CREX-PREX dilemma destroys the agreement with a successful spin-orbit phenomenology, primarily by modifying the well-known ordering of spin-orbit partners.