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Accurate estimates of the binding energy of nuclei far from stability that cannot be produced in the laboratory are crucial to our understanding of nuclear processes in astrophysical scenarios. Models based on energy density functionals have shown that they are capable of reproducing all known masses with root-mean-square error better than 800 keV, while retaining a firm microscopic foundation. However, it was recently pointed out in [M. Hukkanen et al., arXiv:2210.10674] that the recent BSkG1 model fails to account for a contribution to the binding energy that is specific to odd-odd nuclei, and which can be studied by using appropriate mass difference formulas. We analyse here the (lacking) performance of three recent microscopic mass models with respect to such formulas and examine possibilities to remedy this deficiency in the future., Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures; Contribution to the proceedings of INPC 2022, Cape Town, South Africa

A regular pattern, revealing the leading role of the light-fragment nuclear charge, is found to emerge from a consistent analysis of the experimental information collected recently on low-energy asymmetric fission of neutron-deficient nuclei around lead. The observation is corroborated by a theoretical investigation within a microscopic framework, suggesting the importance of proton configurations driven by quadrupole-octupole correlations. This is in contrast to the earlier theoretical interpretations in terms of dominant neutron shells. The survey of a wider area of the nuclear chart by a semi-empirical approach points to the lack of understanding of the competition between the different underlying macroscopic and microscopic forces in a quantitative manner. Combined with previously identified stabilizing forces, the present finding shows a striking connection between the "old" (actinide) and "new" (pre-actinide) islands of asymmetric fission which could steer the strive for an unified theory of fission., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

Background: The Density-constraint Time-dependent Hartree-Fock method is currently the tool of choice to predict fusion cross-sections. However, it does not include pairing correlations, which have been found recently to play an important role. Purpose: To describe the fusion cross-section with a method that includes the superfluidity and to understand the impact of pairing on both the fusion barrier and cross-section. Method: The density-constraint method is tested first on the following reactions without pairing, $^{16}$O+$^{16}$O and $^{40}$Ca+$^{40}$Ca. A new method is developed, the Density-constraint Time-dependent Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov method. Using the Gogny-TDHFB code, it is applied to the reactions $^{20}$O+$^{20}$O and $^{44}$Ca+$^{44}$Ca. Results: The Gogny approach for systems without pairing reproduces the experimental data well. The DC-TDHFB method is coherent with the TDHFB fusion threshold. The effect of the phase-lock mechanism is shown for those reactions. Conclusions: The DC-TDHFB method is a useful new tool to determine the fusion potential between superfluid systems and to deduce their fusion cross-sections., Comment: 8 pages, 11 figures

We perform Time Dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) calculations to investigate the small amplitude dipole response of selected neutron-rich nuclei and Sn isotopes. A detailed comparison with the dipole strength predicted by Random-Phase Approximation (RPA) calculations is presented for the first time. TDHF results are also confronted to Vlasov calculations, to explore up to which extent a semi-classical picture can explain the properties of the nuclear response. The focus is on the low-energy response, below the Giant Dipole Resonance region, where different modes of non negligible strength are identified. We show that the relative weight of these excitations evolves with nuclear global features, such as density profile and neutron skin, which in turn reflect impor tant properties of the nuclear effective interaction. A thorough analysis of the associated transition densities turns out to be quite useful to better characterize the mixed isoscalar(IS)/isovector(IV) nature of the different modes and their surface/volume components. In particular, we show that the dipole response in the so-called Pygmy Dipole Resonance region corresponds to isoscalar-like surface oscillations, of larger strength in nuclei with a more diffuse surface. The ratio between the IV and IS Energy Weighted Sum Rule fractions exhausted in this region is shown to almost linearly increase with the neutron skin thickness in Sn isotopes., Comment: 16 pages, 20 figures

Within the Time Dependent Hartree Fock (TDHF) approach, we investigate the impact of several ingredients of the nuclear effective interaction, such as incompressibility, symmetry energy, effective mass, derivative of the Lane potential and surface terms on the exit channel (fusion vs quasifission) observed in the reaction $^{238}$U+$^{40}$Ca, close to the Coulomb barrier. Our results show that all the ingredients listed above contribute to the competition between fusion and quasifission processes, however the leading role in determining the outcome of the reaction is played by incompressibility, symmetry energy and the isoscalar coefficient of the surface term. This study unravels the complexity of the fusion and quasifission reaction dynamics and helps to understand the microscopic processes responsible for the final outcome of low energy heavy ion collisions in terms of relevant features of the nuclear effective interaction and associated equation of state (EoS)., Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures

The internal excitation of nuclei after multi-nucleon transfer is estimated by using the time-dependent mean-field theory. Transfer probabilities for each channel as well as the energy loss after re-separation are calculated. By combining these two informations, we show that the excitation energy distribution of the transfer fragments can be obtained separately for the different transfer channels. The method is applied to the reaction involving a $^{238}$U beam on a $^{12}$C target, which has recently been measured at GANIL. It is shown that the excitation energy calculated with the microscopic theory compares well with the experimental observation, provided that the competition with fusion is properly taken into account. The reliability of the excitation energy is further confirmed by the comparison with the phenomenological HIPSE model at higher center of mass energies., Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures

Preliminary experimental data for nucleon transfer reactions of the 40Ca+58Ni and 40Ca+64Ni systems are analyzed with the coupled- channels approach. It is shown that a simple treatment for the transfer in the coupled-channels method cannot reproduce simultaneously the transfer probabilities and the sub-barrier enhancement of fusion cross sections., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, Proceeding of the "International Workshop on Multi facets of EOS and Clustering"

Recent progresses in the description of the latter stage of nuclear fission are reported. Dynamical effects during the descent of the potential towards scission and in the formation of the fission fragments are studied with the time-dependent Hartree-Fock approach with dynamical pairing correlations at the BCS level. In particular, this approach is used to compute the final kinetic energy of the fission fragments. Comparison with experimental data on the fission of 258Fm are made., Comment: Proceeding of the "International Conference on Nuclear Structure and Related Topics" (NSRT15)

Probabilities for two-neutron transfer reactions, $P_{\rm 2n}$, are often discussed in comparison with the square of the corresponding probabilities for one-neutron transfer process, $(P_{\rm 1n})^2$, implicitly assuming that $(P_{\rm 1n})^2$ provides the probability of two-neutron transfer reactions in the absence of the pairing correlation. We use a schematic coupled-channels model, in which the transfers are treated as effective inelastic channels, and demonstrate that this model leads to $P_{\rm 2n}=(P_{\rm 1n})^2/4$, rather than $P_{\rm 2n}=(P_{\rm 1n})^2$, in the pure sequential limit. We argue that a simple model with spin-up and spin-down neutrons in a single-particle orbital also leads to the same conclusion., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures

The sub-barrier capture reactions following the neutron pair transfer are proposed to be used for the indirect study of neutron-neutron correlation in the surface region of nucleus. The strong effect of the dineutron-like clusters transfer stemming from the surface of magic and non-magic nuclei $^{18}$O, $^{48}$Ca, $^{64}$Ni, $^{94,96}$Mo, $^{100,102,104}$Ru, $^{104,106,108}$Pd, and $^{112,114,116,118,120,124,132}$Sn is demonstrated. The dominance of two-neutron transfer channel at the vicinity of the Coulomb barrier is further supported by time-dependent mean-field approaches., Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures, accepted in PRC

The density profiles of around 750 nuclei are analyzed using the Skyrme energy density functional theory. Among them, more than 350 nuclei are found to be deformed. In addition to rather standard properties of the density, we report a non-trivial behavior of the nuclear diffuseness as the system becomes more and more deformed. Besides the geometric effects expected in rigid body, the diffuseness acquires a rather complex behavior leading to a reduction of the diffuseness along the main axis of deformation simultaneously with an increase of the diffuseness along the other axis. The possible isospin dependence of this polarization is studied. This effect, that is systematically seen in medium- and heavy-nuclei, can affect the nuclear dynamical properties. A quantitative example is given with the fusion barrier in the $^{40}$Ca+ $^{238}$U reaction., Comment: 8 pages, 13 figures

We analyze the effect of pairing on particle transport in time-dependent theories based on the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (HFB) or BCS approximations. The equations of motion for the HFB density matrices are unique and the theory respects the usual conservation laws defined by commutators of the conserved quantity with the Hamiltonian. In contrast, the theories based on the BCS approximation are more problematic. In the usual formulation of TDHF+BCS, the equation of continuity is violated and one sees unphysical oscillations in particle densities. This can be ameliorated by freezing the occupation numbers during the evolution in TDHF+BCS, but there are other problems with the BCS that make it doubtful for reaction dynamics. We also compare different numerical implementations of the time-dependent HFB equations. The equations of motion for the $U$ and $V$ Bogoliubov transformations are not unique, but it appears that the usual formulation is also the most efficient. Finally, we compare the time-dependent HFB solutions with numerically exact solutions of the two-particle Schrodinger equation. Depending on the treatment of the initial state, the HFB dynamics produces a particle emission rate at short times similar to that of the Schrodinger equation. At long times, the total particle emission can be quite different, due to inherent mean-field approximation of the HFB theory., Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures