A new insight into the observation of spectroscopic strength reduction in atomic nuclei: implication for the physical meaning of spectroscopic factors

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel method using an inhomogeneous equation with correlation-dependent NN interactions to better understand spectroscopic strength reduction in nuclei, challenging traditional views of shell closure.

Contribution

The paper presents a new approach to calculating nuclear overlaps that explains spectroscopic strength reduction and its relation to nucleon binding energies.

Findings

Method reproduces observed spectroscopic strength reduction.

Reconciles experimental data with shell closure concepts.

Provides insights into the physical meaning of spectroscopic factors.

Abstract

Experimental studies of one nucleon knockout from magic nuclei suggest that their nucleon orbits are not fully occupied. This conflicts a commonly accepted view of the shell closure associated with such nuclei. The conflict can be reconciled if the overlap between initial and final nuclear states in a knockout reaction are calculated by a non-standard method. The method employs an inhomogeneous equation based on correlation-dependent effective nucleon-nucleon (NN) interactions and allows the simplest wave functions, in which all nucleons occupy only the lowest nuclear orbits, to be used. The method also reproduces the recently established relation between reduction of spectroscopic strength, observed in knockout reactions on other nuclei, and nucleon binding energies. The implication of the inhomogeneous equation method for the physical meaning of spectroscopic factors is discussed.