# Ab initio limits of atomic nuclei

## TL;DR

This paper uses advanced ab initio methods with chiral interactions to predict the limits of nuclear existence across a wide range of elements, providing theoretical uncertainties and new predictions for neutron-rich isotopes.

## Contribution

It extends ab initio nuclear calculations to medium-mass nuclei up to iron, predicting drip lines with quantified uncertainties and offering new testable predictions.

## Key findings

- Predicted neutron and proton drip lines across light to medium-mass nuclei.
- Calculated ground-state and separation energies for nearly 700 isotopes.
- Predictions for neutron-rich isotopes to guide future experiments.

## Abstract

We predict the limits of existence of atomic nuclei, the proton and neutron drip lines, from the light through medium-mass regions. Starting from a chiral two- and three-nucleon interaction with good saturation properties, we use the valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group to calculate ground-state and separation energies from helium to iron, nearly 700 isotopes in total. We use the available experimental data to quantify the theoretical uncertainties for our ab initio calculations towards the drip lines. Where the drip lines are known experimentally, our predictions are consistent within the estimated uncertainty. For the neutron-rich sodium to chromium isotopes, we provide predictions to be tested at rare-isotope beam facilities.