A stabilized pairing functional

TL;DR

This paper introduces a modified pairing functional for nuclear structure calculations that smoothly transitions between pairing and non-pairing states, improving the description of nuclear collective motion.

Contribution

It presents a new stabilized pairing functional that enables a fully variational approach, unlike the Lipkin-Nogami scheme, enhancing the modeling of nuclear collective phenomena.

Findings

Successfully applied to nuclear ground states

Proven reliable for collective excitations

Ensures smooth phase transition in calculations

Abstract

We propose a modified pairing functional for nuclear structure calculations which avoids the abrupt phase transition between pairing and non-pairing states. The intended application is the description of nuclear collective motion where the smoothing of the transition is compulsory to remove singularities. The stabilized pairing functional allows a thoroughly variational formulation, unlike the Lipkin-Nogami (LN) scheme which is often used for the purpose of smoothing. First applications to nuclear ground states and collective excitations prove the reliability and efficiency of the proposed stabilized pairing.