Khon-Sham Density Functional Inspired Approach to Nuclear Binding

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel non-relativistic nuclear density functional approach inspired by Kohn-Sham theory, using microscopic calculations to reduce the number of parameters needed to accurately predict nuclear properties.

Contribution

It presents a new density functional framework that directly incorporates microscopic nuclear matter results, significantly reducing the number of adjustable parameters.

Findings

Achieves accurate nuclear binding energies and radii with only four to five parameters.

Reproduces results comparable to more complex effective forces.

Uses a simple density-dependent zero-range force for pairing correlations.

Abstract

A non-relativisitic nuclear density functional theory is constructed, not as usual, from an effective density dependent nucleon-nucleon force but directly introducing in the functional results from microscopic nuclear and neutron matter Bruckner G-matrix calculations at various densities. A purely phenomenological finite range part to account for surface properties is added. The striking result is that only four to five adjustable parameters, spin-orbit included, suffice to reproduce nuclear binding energies and radii with the same quality as obtained with the most performant effective forces, containing on the order of ten parameters. In this pilot work, for the pairing correlations, simply a density dependent zero range force is adopted from the literature. Possible future extensions of this approach are pointed out.