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The origin of the asymmetry in the fragment mass distribution of low-energy nuclear fission is considered from the semiclassical point of view. Using the semiclassical periodic-orbit theory, one can define and quantify the shell effect associated with spatially localized nascent-fragment (prefragment) part of the potential. We investigate the roles of prefragments in the deformed shell effect using a simple cavity potential model but with realistic shape degrees of freedom for describing the fission processes. The results suggest that the prefragment magic numbers play essential roles in determining the shapes at the fission saddles, which should have a close relation to the fragment mass distribution., Comment: Published version, 10 pages, 17 figures, focus issue on "Nuclear Shapes and Symmetries: from Experiment to Theory"

The Fedoriuk-Maslov catastrophe theory of caustics and turning points is extended to solve the bifurcation problems by the improved stationary phase method (ISPM). The trace formulas for the radial power-law (RPL) potentials are presented by the ISPM based on the second- and third-order expansion of the classical action near the stationary point. A considerable enhancement of contributions of the two orbits (pair of consisting of the parent and newborn orbits) at their bifurcation is shown. The ISPM trace formula is proposed for a simple bifurcation scenario of Hamiltonian systems with continuous symmetries, where the contributions of the bifurcating parent orbits vanish upon approaching the bifurcation point due to the reduction of the end-point manifold. This occurs since the contribution of the parent orbits is included in the term corresponding to the family of the newborn daughter orbits. Taking this feature into account, the ISPM level densities calculated for the RPL potential model are shown to be in good agreement with the quantum results at the bifurcations and asymptotically far from the bifurcation points., Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures

The periodic-orbit theory based on the improved stationary-phase method within the phase-space path integral approach is presented for the semiclassical description of the nuclear shell structure, concerning the main topics of the fruitful activity of V. G. Solovjov. We apply this theory to study bifurcations and symmetry breaking phenomena in a radial power-law potential which is close to the realistic Woods-Saxon one up to about the Fermi energy. Using the realistic parametrization of nuclear shapes we explain the origin of the double-humped fission barrier and the asymmetry in the fission isomer shapes by the bifurcations of periodic orbits. The semiclassical origin of the oblate-prolate shape asymmetry and tetrahedral shapes is also suggested within the improved periodic-orbit approach. The enhancement of shell structures at some surface diffuseness and deformation parameters of such shapes are explained by existence of the simple local bifurcations and new non-local bridge-orbit bifurcations in integrable and partially integrable Fermi systems. We obtained good agreement between the semiclassical and quantum shell-structure components of the level density and energy for several surface diffuseness and deformation parameters of the potentials, including their symmetry breaking and bifurcation values., Comment: 57 pages, 34 figures

We have derived an analytical trace formula for the level density of the H\'enon-Heiles potential using the improved stationary phase method, based on extensions of Gutzwiller's semiclassical path integral approach. This trace formula has the correct limit to the standard Gutzwiller trace formula for the isolated periodic orbits far from all (critical) symmetry-breaking points. It continuously joins all critical points at which an enhancement of the semiclassical amplitudes occurs. We found a good agreement between the semi- classical and the quantum oscillating level densities for the gross shell structures and for the energy shell corrections, solving the symmetry breaking problem at small energies., Comment: 8 p., 6. figs., LaTeX; submitted to Physica Scripta

The trace formula for the density of single-particle levels in the two-dimensional radial power-law potentials, which nicely approximate the radial dependence of the Woods-Saxon potential and quantum spectra in a bound region, was derived by the improved stationary phase method. The specific analytical results are obtained for the powers 4 and 6. The enhancement phenomena near the bifurcations of periodic orbits are found to be significant for the description of the fine shell structure. It is shown that the semiclassical trace formulas for the shell corrections to the level density and energy reproduce the quantum results with good accuracy through all the bifurcation (symmetry breaking) catastrophe points, where the standard stationary-phase method breaks down. Various limits (including the harmonic oscillator and the spherical billiard) are obtained from the same analytical trace formula., Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures

We first give an overview of the shell-correction method which was developed by V. M. Strutinsky as a practicable and efficient approximation to the general selfconsistent theory of finite fermion systems suggested by A. B. Migdal and collaborators. Then we present in more detail a semiclassical theory of shell effects, also developed by Strutinsky following original ideas of M. Gutzwiller. We emphasize, in particular, the influence of orbit bifurcations on shell structure. We first give a short overview of semiclassical trace formulae, which connect the shell oscillations of a quantum system with a sum over periodic orbits of the corresponding classical system, in what is usually called the "periodic orbit theory". We then present a case study in which the gross features of a typical double-humped nuclear fission barrier, including the effects of mass asymmetry, can be obtained in terms of the shortest periodic orbits of a cavity model with realistic deformations relevant for nuclear fission. Next we investigate shell structures in a spheroidal cavity model which is integrable and allows for far-going analytical computation. We show, in particular, how period-doubling bifurcations are closely connected to the existence of the so-called "superdeformed" energy minimum which corresponds to the fission isomer of actinide nuclei. Finally, we present a general class of radial power-law potentials which approximate well the shape of a Woods-Saxon potential in the bound region, give analytical trace formulae for it and discuss various limits (including the harmonic oscillator and the spherical box potentials)., Comment: LaTeX, 67 pp., 30 figures; revised version (missing part at end of 3.1 implemented; order of references corrected)

Relationship between quantum shell structure and classical periodic orbits is briefly reviewed on the basis of semi-classical trace formula. Using the spheroidal cavity model, it is shown that three-dimensional periodic orbits, which are born out of bifurcation of planar orbits at large prolate deformations, generate the superdeformed shell structure., Comment: 8 pages including 8 figures, Talk at the Conference on Frontiers of Nuclear Structure, July 29th - August 2nd, 2002, UC Berkeley

We derive a semiclassical trace formula for the level density of the three-dimensional spheroidal cavity. To overcome the divergences and discontinuities occurring at bifurcation points and in the spherical limit, the trace integrals over the action-angle variables are performed using an improved stationary phase method. The resulting semiclassical level density oscillations and shell energies are in good agreement with quantum-mechanical results. We find that the births of three-dimensional orbits through the bifurcations of planar orbits in the equatorial plane lead to considerable enhancement of shell effect for superdeformed shapes., Comment: 49 pages, 18 figures, using PTPTeX.cls(included), submitted to Prog. Theor. Phys

We have derived a semiclassical trace formula for the level density of the three-dimensional spheroidal cavity. To overcome the divergences occurring at bifurcations and in the spherical limit, the trace integrals over the action-angle variables were performed using an improved stationary phase method. The resulting semiclassical level density oscillations and shell-correction energies are in good agreement with quantum-mechanical results. We find that the bifurcations of some dominant short periodic orbits lead to an enhancement of the shell structure for "superdeformed" shapes related to those known from atomic nuclei., Comment: 4 pages including 3 figures

We derive an analytical trace formula for the level density of the two-dimensional elliptic billiard using an improved stationary phase method. The result is a continuous function of the deformation parameter (eccentricity) through all bifurcation points of the short diameter orbit and its repetitions, and possesses the correct limit of the circular billiard at zero eccentricity. Away from the circular limit and the bifurcations, it reduces to the usual (extended) Gutzwiller trace formula which for the leading-order families of periodic orbits is identical to the result of Berry and Tabor. We show that the circular disk limit of the diameter-orbit contribution is also reached through contributions from closed (periodic and non-periodic) orbits of hyperbolic type with an even number of reflections from the boundary. We obtain the Maslov indices depending on deformation and energy in terms of the phases of the complex error and Airy functions. We find enhancement of the amplitudes near the common bifurcation points of both short-diameter and hyperbolic orbits. The calculated semiclassical level densities and shell energies are in good agreement with the quantum mechanical ones., Comment: 41 pages including 20 figures, latex with epsf.sty, all PS figs are available at http://npl.kyy.nitech.ac.jp/~arita/preprint/kuns1579/

Classical periodic orbits responsible for emergence of the superdeformed shell structures for single-particle motions in spheroidal cavities are identified and their relative contributions to the shell structures are evaluated. Both prolate and oblate superdeformations (axis ratio about 2:1) as well as prolate hyperdeformation (axis ratio about 3:1) are investigated. Fourier transforms of quantum spectra clearly show that three-dimensional periodic orbits born out of bifurcations of planar orbits in the equatorial plane become predominant at large prolate deformations, while butterfly-shaped planar orbits bifurcated from linear orbits along the minor axis are important at large oblate deformations., Comment: 18 pages including 21 PS figures, REVTeX with epsf.sty

By means of periodic orbit theory and deformed cavity model, we have investigated semiclassical origin of superdeformed shell structure and also of reflection-asymmetric deformed shapes. Systematic analysis of quantum-classical correspondence reveals that bifurcation of equatorial orbits into three-dimensional ones play predominant role in the formation of these shell structures., Comment: 8 pages, latex with 7 PS figures, Talk presented by K.M. at the International Symposium on "Atomic Nuclei and Metallic Clusters: Finite Many-Fermion Systems" (Prague, Sep. 1--5, 1997)

Shell structure of the single-particle spectrum for reflection-asymmetric deformed cavity is investigated. Remarkable shell structure emerges for certain combinations of quadrupole and octupole deformations. Semiclassical periodic-orbit analysis indicates that bifurcation of equatorial orbits plays an important role in the formation of this new shell structure., Comment: 5 pages, latex including 5 postscript figures, submitted to Physics Letters B