New symmetry-adapted ab initio approach to nuclear reactions for intermediate-mass nuclei

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel ab initio method combining symmetry-adapted no-core shell model with the resonating group method to describe nuclear reactions of intermediate-mass nuclei from first principles.

Contribution

The paper presents a new symmetry-adapted ab initio approach that effectively models nuclear reactions involving intermediate-mass nuclei using realistic interactions.

Findings

Calculated norm and Hamiltonian overlaps for cluster systems

Demonstrated the approach's applicability to p-α, p-16O, p-20Ne systems

Enabled description of complex nuclear configurations

Abstract

With a view toward describing reactions of intermediate-mass nuclei from first principles, we present first results for the norm and Hamiltonian overlaps (kernels) for the p-{\alpha}, p-16O and p-20Ne cluster systems using realistic nucleon-nucleon interactions. This is achieved in the framework of a new ab initio approach that combines the symmetry-adapted no-core shell model (SA-NCSM) with the resonating group method (RGM). In this model, a physically relevant basis based on the SU(3) symmetry is used. The structure of the clusters is provided by the ab initio SA-NCSM, which enables the description of spatially enhanced nuclear configurations and heavier nuclei, by exploiting symmetries known to dominate in nuclei. Here, we discuss the applicability and efficacy of this approach.