Nuclei At Extreme Conditions A Relativistic Study

The major goals of the current project were further development of covariant density functional theory (CDFT), better understanding of its features, its application to different nuclear structure and nuclear astrophysics phenomena and training of graduate and undergraduate students. The investigations have proceeded in a number of directions which are discussed in detail in the part "Accomplishments" of this report. We have studied the role of isovector and isoscalar proton-neutron pairings in rotating nuclei; based on available experimental data it was concluded that there are no evidences for the existence of isoscalar proton-neutron pairing. Generalized theoretical approach has been developed for pycnonuclear reaction rates in the crust of neutron stars and interior of white dwarfs. Using this approach, extensive database for considerable number of pycnonuclear reactions involving stable and neutron-rich light nuclei has been created; it can be used in future for the study of various nuclear burning phenomena in different environments. Time-odd mean fields and their manifestations in terminating states, non-rotating and rotating nuclei have been studied in the framework of covariant density functional theory. Contrary to non-relativistic density functional theories these fields, which are important for a proper description of nuclear systems with broken time-reversal symmetry, are uniquely defined in the CDFT framework. Hyperdeformed nuclear shapes (with semi-axis ratio 2.5:1 and larger) have been studied in the Z = 40-58 part of nuclear chart. We strongly believe that such shapes could be studied experimentally in the future with full scale GRETA detector.

In recent years, a new field of nuclear research has been opened through the possibility of studying nuclei wi\h very large values of angular momentum, temperature, pressure and number of particles. This development has been closely associated with heavy ion reactions, since collisions between two heavy nuclei are especially effective in producing metastable compound systems with large angular momentum, and in transferring energy which is distributed over the whole nuclear volume. Under the strain of temperature and of the Coriolis and centrifugal forces, the nucleus displays structural changes which can be interpreted in terms of pairing and shape phase transit ions. This was the subject of the lectures of J. D. Garrett, P. J. Twin and S. Levit. While the rotational motion is, at zero temperature un damped, the width of giant resonances indicate that the nucleus only oscillates through few periods before the motion is damp ed by particle decay, and through coupling to the compound nucleus. Temperature and angular momentum influence in an im portant way the properties of both giant resonances and rotatio nal motion. These subjects were developed by K. Snover, and by P. F. Bortignon and R. A. Broglia, as well as by A. Bracco, A. Dellafiore and F. Matera.

The covariant density functional (CDF) theory with a few number of parameters has been successfully employed to describe ground-state and excited-states of nuclei over the entire nuclear landscape for A > 12. It describes finite nuclear systems with a universal hadronic Lagrangian, which is solved considering the relativistic-Hartree-Fock-Bologuibov approach (RHFB). This model is also employed for the study of compact stars, since it can be extended to high densities where special relativity cannot be ignore. This model can also be extended to include the contribution of hyperons and as well as other exotic particles. In this work, the description and some predictions based on RHFB approach for nuclei under extreme conditions of mass, isospin and temperature are presented.In the first part, we explore the occurrence of spherical shell closures for superheavy nuclei, where shell closures are characterized in terms of two-nucleon gaps. The results depend slightly on the effective Lagrangians used, but the magic numbers beyond ^{208}Pb are generally predicted to be Z = 120 and 138 for protons, and N = 172, 184, 228, and 258 for neutrons. Shell effects are sensitive to various terms of the mean-field, such as the spin-orbit coupling, the scalar and the effective masses, as well as the Lorentz-tensor interaction. These terms have different weights in the effective Lagrangians employed, explaining the (relatively small) variations in the predictions. Employing the most advanced RHFB model, we founded that the nuclide ^{304}120 is favored as being the next spherical doubly-magic nucleus beyond ^{208}Pb.In the second part, we investigate the formation of new shell gaps in intermediate mass neutron-rich nuclei, and analyze the role of the Lorentz pseudo-vector and tensor interactions. Based on the Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation, we discuss in detail the role played by the different terms of the Lorentz pseudo-vector and tensor interactions in the appearance of the N=16, 32 and 34 shell gaps. The nuclei ^{24}O, ^{48}Si and ^{52,54}Ca are predicted with a large shell gap and zero (^{24}O, ^{52}Ca) or almost zero (^{48}Si, ^{54}Ca) pairing gap, making them candidates for new magic numbers in neutron rich nuclei. We find that the Lorentz pseudo-vector and tensor interactions induce very specific evolutions of single-particle energies, which could clearly sign their presence and reveal the need for relativistic approaches with exchange interactions.In the last part, we study the phase transitions and thermal excitations of both stable and weakly-bound nuclei. The predictions of various relativistic Lagrangians and different pairing interactions are discussed. The critical temperature of the pairing transition is found to depend linearly on the zero-temperature pairing gap, and this dependence is similar for a zero-range or a finite-range pairing interaction. The present calculations show interesting features of the pairing correlations at finite temperature, such as the pairing persistence and pairing re-entrance phenomena. Also, we analyze the thermal response of some nuclei.In conclusion, the work presented in this thesis shown interesting and new results for three of the most important questions in nuclear physics: the quest for a new island of stability in the superheavy region, the appearance of new magic numbers in exotic nuclei, and the response of finite-systems to thermal excitations.

The main emphasis of the entire project is on issues having to do with medium energy and ultra-relativistic energy and heavy ion collisions. A major goal of both theory and experiment is to study properties of hot dense nuclear matter under various extreme conditions and to map out the phase diagram in density or chemical potential and temperature. My studies in medium energy nuclear collisions focused on the liquid-gas phase transition and cluster yields from such transitions. Here I developed both the statistical model of nuclear multi-fragmentation and also a mean field theory.

Dramatic progress has been made in all branches of physics since the National Research Council's 1986 decadal survey of the field. The Physics in a New Era series explores these advances and looks ahead to future goals. The series includes assessments of the major subfields and reports on several smaller subfields, and preparation has begun on an overview volume on the unity of physics, its relationships to other fields, and its contributions to national needs. Nuclear Physics is the latest volume of the series. The book describes current activity in understanding nuclear structure and symmetries, the behavior of matter at extreme densities, the role of nuclear physics in astrophysics and cosmology, and the instrumentation and facilities used by the field. It makes recommendations on the resources needed for experimental and theoretical advances in the coming decade.

Relativity plays an important role in atomic nuclei, and, since the early 1970s, there has been increasing interest in, and literature on, the nucleus as a relativistic system. In fact, the relativistic treatment provides a powerful method to describe nuclear structure and reactions. It is thus an ideal time to collect and review the important landmarks in this book. Directed to advanced students and researchers, it explains both the underlying relativistic theory and compares predictions with actual experiments.