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G. Colo

Publications and source records attributed to G. Colo.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Isoscalar Giant Resonances in the even-A Pd Isotopes

Studies of the isoscalar giant monopole resonance (ISGMR) across the chart of nuclides provide insight into the incompressibility of nuclear matter near saturation density, K(infinity). Such studies had revealed a discrepancy between theoretical approaches: quasiparticle random phase approximation (QRPA) derived from Skyrme interactions reproduce the strength distributions of the ISGMR in the doubly-closed-shell nuclei 90Zr and 208Pb, but their descriptions of strength distributions in open-shell medium-heavy nuclei suggest higher centroid energies should be experimentally observed. The latter nuclei required a smaller K(infinity) and were thus deemed softer. The present work serves to add to this softness discourse by extracting ISGMR strength distributions for 104,106,108,110Pd via 386-MeV inelastic alpha-scattering. The extracted giant resonance strength distributions are consistent with expectations in this isotopic range. Additional Quasiparticle Vibration Coupling (QPVC) effects are included with the QRPA approach and compared to aforementioned ISGMR strength distributions.

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arXiv2020

Stellar electron capture rates based on finite temperature relativistic quasiparticle random-phase approximation

The electron capture process plays an important role in the evolution of the core collapse of a massive star that precedes the supernova explosion. In this study, the electron capture on nuclei in stellar environment is described in the relativistic energy density functional framework, including both the finite temperature and nuclear pairing effects. Relevant nuclear transitions $J^\pi = 0^\pm, 1^\pm, 2^\pm$ are calculated using the finite temperature proton-neutron quasiparticle random phase approximation with the density-dependent meson-exchange effective interaction DD-ME2. The pairing and temperature effects are investigated in the Gamow-Teller transition strength as well as the electron capture cross sections and rates for ${}^{44}$Ti and ${}^{56}$Fe in stellar environment. It is found that the pairing correlations establish an additional unblocking mechanism similar to the finite temperature effects, that can allow otherwise blocked single-particle transitions. Inclusion of pairing correlations at finite temperature can significantly alter the electron capture cross sections, even up to a factor of two for ${}^{44}$Ti, while for the same nucleus electron capture rates can increase by more than one order of magnitude. We conclude that for the complete description of electron capture on nuclei both pairing and temperature effects must be taken into account.

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arXiv2016

Quasi-particle random phase approximation with quasi-particle-vibration coupling: application to the Gamow-Teller response of the superfluid nucleus $^{120}$Sn

We propose a self-consistent quasi-particle random phase approximation (QRPA) plus quasi-particle-vibration coupling (QPVC) model with Skyrme interactions to describe the width and the line shape of giant resonances in open-shell nuclei, in which the effect of superfluidity should be taken into account in both the ground state and the excited states. We apply the new model to the Gamow-Teller resonance in the superfluid nucleus $^{120}$Sn, including both the isoscalar spin-triplet and the isovector spin-singlet pairing interactions. The strength distribution in $^{120}$Sn is well reproduced and the underlying microscopic mechanisms, related to QPVC and also to isoscalar pairing, are analyzed in detail.

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arXiv2014

Properties of single-particle states in a fully self-consistent particle-vibration coupling approach

The properties of single-particle states in the magic nuclei $^{40}$Ca and $^{208}$Pb, in particular the energies, spectroscopic factors and the effective mass, have been studied in a fully self-consistent particle-vibration coupling (PVC) approach within the framework of Skyrme energy density functional theory. All selected phonons are obtained by the Random Phase Approximation and the same Skyrme interaction is also used in the PVC vertex. We focus on the effect of the non-central two-body spin-orbit and tensor interactions on the single-particle properties. It has been found that the contributions of those terms are important to improve the results of $^{208}$Pb. The calculated single-particle energies and spectroscopic factors are compared to available experimental data. The single-particle level density around the Fermi surface is significantly increased due to the effect of PVC.

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arXiv2013

Constraining the density dependence of symmetry energy from nuclear masses

Empirically determined values of the nuclear volume and surface symmetry energy coefficients from nuclear masses are expressed in terms of density distributions of nucleons in heavy nuclei in the local density approximation. This is then used to extract the value of the symmetry energy slope parameter $L$. The density distributions in both spherical and well deformed nuclei calculated within microscopic framework with different energy density functionals give $L = 59.0 \pm 13.0$ MeV. Application of the method also helps in a precision determination of the neutron skin thickness of nuclei that are difficult to measure accurately.

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arXiv2013

Incompressibility of finite fermionic systems: stable and exotic atomic nuclei

The incompressibility of finite fermionic systems is investigated using analytical approaches and microscopic models. The incompressibility of a system is directly linked to the zero-point kinetic energy of constituent fermions, and this is a universal feature of fermionic systems. In the case of atomic nuclei, this implies a constant value of the incompressibility in medium-heavy and heavy nuclei. The evolution of nuclear incompressibility along Sn and Pb isotopic chains is analyzed using global microscopic models, based on both non-relativistic and relativistic energy functionals. The result is an almost constant incompressibility in stable nuclei and systems not far from stability, and a steep decrease in nuclei with pronounced neutron excess, caused by the emergence of a soft monopole mode in neutron-rich nuclei.

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arXiv2012

Microscopic Study of the Isoscalar Giant Monopole Resonance in Cd, Sn and Pb Isotopes

The isoscalar giant monopole resonance (ISGMR) in Cd, Sn and Pb isotopes has been studied within the self-consistent Skyrme Hartree-Fock+BCS and quasi-particle random phase approximation (QRPA). Three Skyrme parameter sets are used in the calculations, i.e., SLy5, SkM* and SkP, since they are characterized by different values of the compression modulus in symmetric nuclear matter, namely K=230, 217, and 202 MeV, respectively. We also investigate the effect of different types of pairing forces on the ISGMR in Cd, Sn and Pb isotopes. The calculated peak energies and the strength distributions of ISGMR are compared with available experimental data. We find that SkP fails completely to describe the ISGMR strength distribution for all isotopes due to its low value of the nuclear matter incompressibility, namely K=202 MeV. On the other hand, the SLy5 parameter set, supplemented by an appropriate pairing interaction, gives a reasonable description of the ISGMR in Cd and Pb isotopes. A better description of ISGMR in Sn isotopes is achieved by the SkM* interaction, that has a somewhat softer value of the nuclear incompressibility.

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arXiv2012

Electric dipole polarizability and the neutron skin

The recent high-resolution measurement of the electric dipole (E1) polarizability (alphad) in 208Pb [Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 062502 (2011)] provides a unique constraint on the neutron-skin thickness of this nucleus. The neutron-skin thickness (rskin) of 208Pb is a quantity of critical importance for our understanding of a variety of nuclear and astrophysical phenomena. To assess the model dependence of the correlation between alphad and rskin, we carry out systematic calculations for 208Pb, 132Sn, and 48Ca based on the nuclear density functional theory (DFT) using both non-relativistic and relativistic energy density functionals (EDFs). Our analysis indicates that whereas individual models exhibit a linear dependence between alphad and rskin, this correlation is not universal when one combines predictions from a host of different models. By averaging over these model predictions, we provide estimates with associated systematic errors for rskin and alphad for the nuclei under consideration. We conclude that precise measurements of rskin in both 48Ca and 208Pb---combined with the recent measurement of alphad---should significantly constrain the isovector sector of the nuclear energy density functional.

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arXiv2010

Effect of the tensor force on the charge-exchange spin-dipole excitations of 208Pb

The charge-exchange spin-dipole (SD) excitations of 208Pb are studied by using a fully self-consistent Skyrme Hartree-Fock plus Random Phase Approximation (HF+RPA) formalism which includes the tensor interaction. It is found, for the first time, that the tensor correlations have a unique, multipole-dependent effect on the SD excitations, that is, they produce softening of 1- states, but hardening of 0- and 2- states. This paves the way to a clear assessment of the strength of the tensor terms. We compare our results with a recent measurement, showing that our choice of tensor terms improves the agreement with experiment. The robustness of our results is supported by the analytic form of the tensor matrix elements.

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arXiv2010

Effect of pairing correlations on incompressibility and symmetry energy in nuclear matter and finite nuclei

The role of superfluidity in the incompressibility and in the symmetry energy is studied in nuclear matter and finite nuclei. Several pairing interactions are used: surface, mixed and isovector dependent. Pairing has a small effect on the nuclear matter incompressibility at saturation density, but the effects are significant at lower densities. The pairing effect on the centroid energy of the isoscalar Giant Monopole Resonance (GMR) is also evaluated for Pb and Sn isotopes by using a microscopic constrained-HFB approach, and found to change at most by 10% the nucleus incompressibility $K_A$. It is shown by using the Local Density Approximation (LDA) that most of the pairing effect on the GMR centroid come from the low-density nuclear surface.

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arXiv2009

Calculation of stellar electron-capture cross sections on nuclei based on microscopic Skyrme functionals

A fully self-consistent microscopic framework for evaluation of nuclear weak-interaction rates at finite temperature is introduced, based on Skyrme functionals. The single-nucleon basis and the corresponding thermal occupation factors of the initial nuclear state are determined in the finite-temperature Skyrme Hartree-Fock model, and charge-exchange transitions to excited states are computed using the finite-temperature RPA. Effective interactions are implemented self-consistently: both the finite-temperature single-nucleon Hartree-Fock equations and the matrix equations of RPA are based on the same Skyrme energy density functional. Using a representative set of Skyrme functionals, the model is applied in the calculation of stellar electron-capture cross sections for selected nuclei in the iron mass group and for neutron-rich Ge isotopes.

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arXiv2007

Exotic modes of excitation in atomic nuclei far from stability

We review recent studies of the evolution of collective excitations in atomic nuclei far from the valley of $β$-stability. Collective degrees of freedom govern essential aspects of nuclear structure, and for several decades the study of collective modes such as rotations and vibrations has played a vital role in our understanding of complex properties of nuclei. The multipole response of unstable nuclei and the possible occurrence of new exotic modes of excitation in weakly-bound nuclear systems, present a rapidly growing field of research, but only few experimental studies of these phenomena have been reported so far. Valuable data on the evolution of the low-energy dipole response in unstable neutron-rich nuclei have been gathered in recent experiments, but the available information is not sufficient to determine the nature of observed excitations. Even in stable nuclei various modes of giant collective oscillations had been predicted by theory years before they were observed, and for that reason it is very important to perform detailed theoretical studies of the evolution of collective modes of excitation in nuclei far from stability. We therefore discuss the modern theoretical tools that have been developed in recent years for the description of collective excitations in weakly-bound nuclei. The review focuses on the applications of these models to studies of the evolution of low-energy dipole modes from stable nuclei to systems near the particle emission threshold, to analyses of various isoscalar modes, those for which data are already available, as well as those that could be observed in future experiments, to a description of charge-exchange modes and their evolution in neutron-rich nuclei, and to studies of the role of exotic low-energy modes in astrophysical processes.

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arXiv2002

Folding model analysis of elastic and inelastic proton scattering on Sulfur isotopes

The folding formalism for the nucleon-nucleus optical potential and inelastic form factor is applied to study elastic and inelastic proton scattering on 30-40S isotopes. A recently developed realistic density dependent M3Y interaction, well tested in the folding analysis of nucleus-nucleus elastic and inelastic scattering, is used as effective NN interaction. The nuclear ground state and transition densities (for the 2+ excitations in Sulfur isotopes) are obtained in the Hartree-Fock-BCS and QRPA approaches, respectively. The best fit ratios of transition moments Mn/Mp for the lowest 2+ states in Sulfur isotopes are compared to those obtained earlier in the DWBA analysis of the same data using the same structure model and inelastic form factors obtained with the JLM effective interaction. Our folding+DWBA analysis has shown quite a strong isovector mixing in the elastic and inelastic scattering channels for the neutron rich 38,40S nuclei. In particular, the relative strength of the isovector part of the transition potential required by the inelastic p+38S data is significantly stronger than that obtained with the corresponding QRPA transition density.

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arXiv2001

Charged-current neutrino-208Pb reactions

We present theoretical results on the non flux-averaged $^{208}Pb(\nu_{e},e^-)^{208}Bi$ and $^{208}Pb(\nu_{\mu},\mu^-)^{208}Bi$ reaction cross sections, obtained within the charge-exchange Random-Phase-Approximation. A detailed knowledge of these cross sections is important in different contexts. In particular, it is necessary to assess the possibility of using lead as a detector in future experiments on supernova neutrinos, such as OMNIS and LAND, and eventually detect neutrino oscillation signals by exploiting the spectroscopic properties of $^{208}Bi$. We discuss the present status on the theoretical predictions of the reaction cross sections.

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