P. Papakonstantinou

Matrix elements and few-body calculations within the unitary correlation operator method

We employ the unitary correlation operator method (UCOM) to construct correlated, low-momentum matrix elements of realistic nucleon-nucleon interactions. The dominant short-range central and tensor correlations induced by the interaction are included explicitly by an unitary transformation. Using correlated momentum-space matrix elements of the Argonne V18 potential, we show that the unitary transformation eliminates the strong off-diagonal contributions caused by the short-range repulsion and the tensor interaction and leaves a correlated interaction dominated by low-momentum contributions. We use correlated harmonic oscillator matrix elements as input for no-core shell model calculations for few-nucleon systems. Compared to the bare interaction, the convergence properties are dramatically improved. The bulk of the binding energy can already be obtained in very small model spaces or even with a single Slater determinant. Residual long-range correlations, not treated explicitly by the unitary transformation, can easily be described in model spaces of moderate size allowing for fast convergence. By varying the range of the tensor correlator we are able to map out the Tjon line and can in turn constrain the optimal correlator ranges.

Hartree-Fock and many body perturbation theory with correlated realistic NN interactions

We employ correlated realistic nucleon-nucleon interactions for the description of nuclear ground states throughout the nuclear chart within the Hartree-Fock approximation. The crucial short-range central and tensor correlations, which are induced by the realistic interaction and cannot be described by the Hartree-Fock many-body state itself, are included explicitly by a state-independent unitary transformation in the framework of the unitary correlation operator method (UCOM). Using the correlated realistic interaction

Large-scale second random-phase approximation calculations with finite-range interactions

\VO_{; ; \UCOM}; ;

Second random phase approximation and renormalized realistic interactions

resulting from the Argonne V18 potential, bound nuclei are obtained already on the Hartree-Fock level. However, the binding energies are smaller than the experimental values because long-range correlations have not been accounted for. Their inclusion by means of many-body perturbation theory leads to a remarkable agreement with experimental binding energies over the whole mass range from \elem{; ; He}; ; {; ; 4}; ; to \elem{; ; Pb}; ; {; ; 208}; ; , even far off the valley of stability. The observed perturbative character of the residual long-range correlations and the apparently small net effect of three-body forces provides promising perspectives for a unified nuclear structure description.

Collective multipole excitations based on correlated realistic nucleon-nucleon interactions

Second RPA (SRPA) calculations of nuclear response are performed and analyzed. Unlike in most other SRPA applications, the ground state, approximated by the Hartree-Fock (HF) ground state, and the residual couplings are described by the same Hamiltonian and no arbitrary truncations are imposed on the model space. Finite-range interactions are used and thus divergence problems are not present. We employ a realistic interaction, derived from the Argonne V18 potential using the unitary correlation operator method (UCOM), as well as the simple Brink-Boeker interaction. Representative results are discussed, mainly on giant resonances and low-lying collective states. The focus of the present work is not on the comparison with data, but rather on technical and physical aspects of the method. We present how the large-scale eigenvalue problem that SRPA entails can be treated, and demonstrate how the method operates in producing self-energy corrections and fragmentation. The so-called diagonal approximation is conditionally validated. Stability problems are traced back to missing ground-state correlations.

Isoscalar dipole coherence at low energies and forbidden E1 strength

We examine the response of closed-shell nuclei using a correlated interaction, derived with the Unitary Correlation Operator Method (UCOM) from the Argonne V18 potential, in second RPA (SRPA) calculations. The same correlated two-body interaction is used to derive the Hartree-Fock ground state and the SRPA equations. Our results show that the coupling of particle-hole states to higher-order configurations produces sizable effects compared with first-order RPA. A much improved description of the isovector dipole and isoscalar quadrupole resonances is obtained, thanks in part to the more fundamental treatment of the nucleon effective mass offered by SRPA. The present work suggests the prospect of describing giant resonance properties realistically and consistently within extended RPA theories. Self-consistency issues of the present SRPA method and residual three-body effects are pointed out.

Low-energy dipole strength and the critical case of 48Ca

We investigate collective multipole excitations for closed-shell nuclei from

Quasiparticle Random Phase Approximation with Interactions from the Similarity Renormalization Group

^{16}\mathrm{O}

Low-energy dipole excitations towards the proton drip-line : Doubly magic 48Ni

to

Low-energy electric dipole response of Sn isotopes

^{208}\mathrm{Pb}