Halos in medium-heavy and heavy nuclei with covariant density functional theory in continuum

TL;DR

This paper reviews the development of covariant density functional theory in continuum and its application to describing neutron halo phenomena in medium-heavy and heavy nuclei, emphasizing the importance of continuum coupling and pairing effects.

Contribution

It introduces recent theoretical advancements in covariant density functional theory in continuum and applies them to analyze neutron halo phenomena in various nuclei.

Findings

Continuum coupling is crucial for accurate halo descriptions.

Pairing correlations significantly influence nuclear size and density distributions.

The theory successfully predicts properties of exotic, unstable nuclei.

Abstract

The covariant density functional theory with a few number of parameters has been widely used to describe the ground-state and excited-state properties for the nuclei all over the nuclear chart. In order to describe exotic properties of unstable nuclei, the contribution of the continuum and its coupling with bound states should be treated properly. In this Topical Review, the development of the covariant density functional theory in continuum will be introduced, including the relativistic continuum Hartree-Bogoliubov theory, the relativistic Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov theory in continuum, and the deformed relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov theory in continuum. Then the descriptions and predictions of the neutron halo phenomena in both spherical and deformed nuclei will be reviewed. The diffuseness of the nuclear potentials, nuclear shapes and density distributions, and the impact of the pairing correlations on nuclear size will be discussed.