Finite Nuclei in the Quark-Meson Coupling (QMC) Model

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel energy density functional based on the quark-meson coupling model, which effectively describes ground state properties of nuclei across the periodic table with fewer parameters than traditional models.

Contribution

The study presents the first application of a quark-based energy density functional to finite nuclei, deriving density dependence microscopically and naturally incorporating spin-orbit effects.

Findings

Achieves comparable accuracy to Skyrme functionals in reproducing nuclear ground state data.

Uses a single set of four physically motivated parameters for diverse nuclei.

Demonstrates the model's robustness without parameter adjustment across nuclear properties.

Abstract

We report the first use of the effective QMC energy density functional (EDF), derived from a quark model of hadron structure, to study a broad range of ground state properties of even-even nuclei across the periodic table in the non-relativistic Hartree-Fock+BCS framework. The novelty of the QMC model is that the nuclear medium effects are treated through modification of the internal structure of the nucleon. The density dependence is microscopically derived and the spin-orbit term arises naturally. The QMC EDF depends on a single set of four adjustable parameters having clear physical basis. When applied to diverse ground state data the QMC EDF already produces, in its present simple form, overall agreement with experiment of a quality comparable to a representative Skyrme EDF. There exist however multiple Skyrme paramater sets, frequently tailored to describe selected nuclear phenomena. The QMC EDF set of fewer parameters, as derived in this work, is not open to such variation, chosen set being applied, without adjustment, to both the properties of finite nuclei and nuclear matter.