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We introduce a hybrid many-body approach that combines the flexibility of the No-Core Shell Model (NCSM) with the efficiency of Multi-Configurational Perturbation Theory (MCPT) to compute ground- and excited-state energies in arbitrary open-shell nuclei in large model spaces. The NCSM in small model spaces is used to define a multi-determinantal reference state that contains the most important multi-particle multi-hole correlations and a subsequent second-order MCPT correction is used to capture additional correlation effects from a large model space. We apply this new ab initio approach for the calculation of ground-state and excitation energies of even and odd-mass carbon, oxygen, and fluorine isotopes and compare to large-scale NCSM calculations that are computationally much more expensive., 6 pages, 4 figures

Non-perturbative aspects of the quantum many-body problem are revisited, discussed and advanced in the equation of motion framework. We compare the approach to the two-fermion response function truncated on the two-body level by the cluster expansion of the dynamical interaction kernel to the approach known as time blocking approximation. Such a comparison leads to an extended many-body theory with non-perturbative treatment of high-order configurations. The present implementation of the advanced theory introduces a new class of solutions for the response functions, which include explicitly beyond-mean-field correlations between up to six fermions. The novel approach, which includes configurations with two quasiparticles coupled to two phonons (2q$\otimes$2phonon), is discussed in detail for the particle-hole nuclear response and applied to medium-mass nuclei. The proposed developments are implemented numerically on the basis of the relativistic effective meson-nucleon Lagrangian and compared to the models confined by two-fermion and four-fermion configurations, which are considered as state-of-the-art for the response theory in nuclear structure calculations. The results obtained for the dipole response of $^{42,48}$Ca and $^{68}$Ni nuclei in comparison to available experimental data show that the higher configurations are necessary for a successful description of both gross and fine details of the spectra in both high-energy and low-energy sectors., Comment: Article: 28 pages, 19 figures

International audience; Excited states in Mn isotopes with mass number A from 63 to 67 were studied via in-beam γ–ray spectroscopy following knockout reactions from 67,68Fe. In odd-A isotopes 63,65,67Mn, similar level schemes, consisting of the 11/2-, 9/2-, 7/2-, and 5/2-g.s. level sequence, connected by I →I -1 transitions, were established, the first time for 65,67Mn. Experimental results of odd-A Mn isotopes are compared with large-scale shell-model calculations in the model space that includes the vg9/2 and vd5/2 orbitals with the state-of-the-art LNPS effective interaction. The constructed level schemes in odd-odd isotopes 64,66Mn show rotational-like properties. Spin and parity of the excited states, as well as the πf7/2 ⊗ vg9/2 configuration of the bands are tentatively assigned based on the level systematics in the odd-odd isotopes. These new data extends the knowledge of the excited states in Mn isotopes. Discussion in terms of the systematics helps to deepen our understanding of the N = 40 “island of inversion”.

International audience; The present article aims to give a concise account of the main developments in nuclear structure theory, from its origin in the 1930s to date, taking the modelling of inter-nucleon interactions as guideline.

The atomic nucleus is a quantum many-body system whose constituent nucleons (protons and neutrons) are subject to complex nucleon-nucleon interactions that include spin- and isospin-dependent components. For stable nuclei, already several decades ago, emerging seemingly regular patterns in some observables could be described successfully within a shell-model picture that results in particularly stable nuclei at certain magic fillings of the shells with protons and/or neutrons: N,Z = 8, 20, 28, 50, 82, 126. However, in short-lived, so-called exotic nuclei or rare isotopes, characterized by a large N/Z asymmetry and located far away from the valley of beta stability on the nuclear chart, these magic numbers, viewed through observables, were shown to change. These changes in the regime of exotic nuclei offer an unprecedented view at the roles of the various components of the nuclear force when theoretical descriptions are confronted with experimental data on exotic nuclei where certain effects are enhanced. This article reviews the driving forces behind shell evolution from a theoretical point of view and connects this to experimental signatures., Comment: 69 pages, 70 figures

Background: Odd-odd nuclei, around doubly closed shells, have been extensively used to study proton-neutron interactions. However, the evolution of these interactions as a function of the binding energy, ultimately when nuclei become unbound, is poorly known. The $^{26}$F nucleus, composed of a deeply bound $\pi0d\_{5/2}$ proton and an unbound $\nu0d\_{3/2}$ neutron on top of an $^{24}$O core, is particularly adapted for this purpose. The coupling of this proton and neutron results in a $J^{\pi} = 1^{+}\_1 - 4^{+}\_1$ multiplet, whose energies must be determined to study the influence of the proximity of the continuum on the corresponding proton-neutron interaction. The $J^{\pi} = 1^{+}\_1, 2^{+}\_1,4^{+}\_1$ bound states have been determined, and only a clear identification of the $J^{\pi} =3^{+}\_1$ is missing.Purpose: We wish to complete the study of the $J^{\pi} = 1^{+}\_1 - 4^{+}\_1$ multiplet in $^{26}$F, by studying the energy and width of the $J^{\pi} =3^{+}\_1$ unbound state. The method was firstly validated by the study of unbound states in $^{25}$F, for which resonances were already observed in a previous experiment.Method: Radioactive beams of $^{26}$Ne and $^{27}$Ne, produced at about $440A$\,MeV by the FRagment Separator at the GSI facility, were used to populate unbound states in $^{25}$F and $^{26}$F via one-proton knockout reactions on a CH$\_2$ target, located at the object focal point of the R$^3$B/LAND setup. The detection of emitted $\gamma$-rays and neutrons, added to the reconstruction of the momentum vector of the $A-1$ nuclei, allowed the determination of the energy of three unbound states in $^{25}$F and two in $^{26}$F. Results: Based on its width and decay properties, the first unbound state in $^{25}$F is proposed to be a $J^{\pi} = 1/2^-$ arising from a $p\_{1/2}$ proton-hole state. In $^{26}$F, the first resonance at 323(33)~keV is proposed to be the $J^{\pi} =3^{+}\_1$ member of the $J^{\pi} = 1^{+}\_1 - 4^{+}\_1$ multiplet. Energies of observed states in $^{25,26}$F have been compared to calculations using the independent-particle shell model, a phenomenological shell-model, and the ab initio valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group method.Conclusions: The deduced effective proton-neutron interaction is weakened by about 30-40\% in comparison to the models, pointing to the need of implementing the role of the continuum in theoretical descriptions, or to a wrong determination of the atomic mass of $^{26}$F., Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables, submitted to PRC

International audience; Finite-temperature Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov theory using Skyrme interactions and relativistic Hartree-Fock effective Lagrangians predicts Ni48 as being a possible candidate for the finite-temperature pairing re-entrance phenomenon. For this proton-drip-line nucleus, proton resonant states are expected to contribute substantially to pairing correlations and the two predicted critical temperatures are Tc1∼0.08–0.2 MeV and Tc2∼0.7–0.9 MeV. It is also shown that pairing re-entrance modifies the proton single-particle energies around the Fermi level, as well as occupation numbers and quasiparticle levels. The understanding of pairing re-entrance in Ni48 presently challenges our understanding of exotic matter under extreme conditions.

$Background:$ Previous measurements of $\beta$-delayed neutron emitters comprise around 230 nuclei, spanning from the $^{8}$He up to $^{150}$La. Apart from $^{210}$Tl, with a minuscule branching ratio of 0.007\%, no other neutron emitter is measured yet beyond $A=150$. Therefore new data are needed, particularly in the heavy mass region around N=126, in order to guide theoretical models and to understand the formation of the third r-process peak at $A\sim195$. $Purpose:$ To measure both, $\beta$-decay half-lives and neutron branching ratios of several neutron-rich Au, Hg, Tl, Pb and Bi isotopes beyond $N=126$. $Method:$ Ions of interest are produced by fragmentation of a $^{238}$U beam, selected and identified via the GSI-FRS fragment separator. A stack of segmented silicon detectors (SIMBA) is used to measure ion-implants and $\beta$-decays. An array of 30 $^3$He tubes embedded in a polyethylene matrix (BELEN) is used to detect neutrons with high efficiency and selectivity. A self-triggered digital system is employed to acquire data and to enable time-correlations. The latter are analyzed with an analytical model and results for the half-lives and neutron-branching ratios are derived using the binned Maximum-Likelihood method. $Results:$ Twenty new $\beta$-decay half-lives are reported for $^{204-206}$Au, $^{208-211}$Hg,$^{211-216}$Tl,$^{215-218}$Pb and $^{218-220}$Bi, nine of them for the first time. Neutron emission probabilities are reported for $^{210,211}$Hg and $^{211-216}$Tl. $Conclusions:$ The new $\beta$-decay half-lives are in good agreement with previous measurements in this region. The measured neutron emission probabilities are comparable or smaller than values predicted by global models like RHB+RQRPA., Comment: 17 pages, 21 figures, will be submitted at PRC

We obtain the equation of state of interacting alpha matter and the critical temperature of Bose-Einstein condensation of alpha particles within an effective scalar field theory. We start from a non-relativistic model of uniform alpha matter interacting with attractive two-body and repulsive three-body potentials and reformulate this model as a O(2) symmetric scalar \phi^6 field theory with negative quartic and positive sextic interactions. Upon restricting the Matsubara sums, near the temperature of Bose-Einstein condensation, to the zeroth order modes we further obtain an effective classical theory in three spatial dimensions. The phase diagram of the alpha matter is obtained from simulations of this effective field theory on a lattice using local Monte-Carlo algorithms., Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures; v2: improved presentation, results unchanged; to appear in Nucl. Phys. A

Complex structural effects in the nuclide production from the projectile fragmentation of 1 A GeV 238 U nuclei in a titanium target, manifested as an even-odd effect, are reported. The structure seems to be insensitive to the excitation energy induced in the reaction. This is in contrast to the prominent structural features found in nuclear fission and in transfer reactions, which gradually disappear with increasing excitation energy. Most of the features of the results are reproduced using the statistical model of nuclear reactions, treating the pairing correlations in a consistent way both in the masses and in the level densities. The structures appear as the result of the condensation process of heated nuclear matter while cooling down in the evaporation process. As such, it can be considered a manifestation of the passage from the normal liquid phase of the nucleus to its superfluid phase.