Clustering and pasta phases in nuclear density functional theory

Journal Article · 23 May 2017 · IJMPE, special-topics issue on Nuclear Particle Correlations and Cluster Physics

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1142/9789813209350_0005 · OSTI ID:1358656

Schuetrumpf, Bastian ^[1]; Zhang, Chunli ^[1]; Nazarewicz, Witold ^[2]

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1. Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States). FRIB Lab.
2. Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States). FRIB Lab., Dept. of Physics and Astronomy; Univ. of Warsaw (Poland)

Nuclear density functional theory is the tool of choice in describing properties of complex nuclei and intricate phases of bulk nucleonic matter. It is a microscopic approach based on an energy density functional representing the nuclear interaction. An attractive feature of nuclear DFT is that it can be applied to both finite nuclei and pasta phases appearing in the inner crust of neutron stars. While nuclear pasta clusters in a neutron star can be easily characterized through their density distributions, the level of clustering of nucleons in a nucleus can often be difficult to assess. To this end, we use the concept of nucleon localization. We demonstrate that the localization measure provides us with fingerprints of clusters in light and heavy nuclei, including fissioning systems. Furthermore we investigate the rod-like pasta phase using twist-averaged boundary conditions, which enable calculations in finite volumes accessible by state of the art DFT solvers.

• Research Organization: Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
• Grant/Contract Number: NA0002847; SC0013365; SC0008511
• OSTI ID: 1358656
• Journal Information: IJMPE, special-topics issue on Nuclear Particle Correlations and Cluster Physics, Journal Name: IJMPE, special-topics issue on Nuclear Particle Correlations and Cluster Physics
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English