Contribution of $SU(3)$ quadratic Casimir squared to rotational bands in the interacting boson model

TL;DR

This paper investigates the impact of including the squared $SU(3)$ quadratic Casimir term in the interacting boson model Hamiltonian to better describe rotational bands in nuclei, with preliminary results on two specific nuclei.

Contribution

It introduces a Hamiltonian with the $SU(3)$ quadratic Casimir squared term into the interacting boson model, exploring its effects on nuclear rotational bands.

Findings

Good description of rotational bands in $^{156}$Ga and $^{234}$U

Additional term improves model fit with limited data

Proposes a one-parameter fit approach

Abstract

Rotational bands are commonly used in the analysis of the spectra of atomic nuclei. The early version of the interacting boson model of Arima and Iachello has been foundational to the description of rotations in nuclei. The model is based on a unitary spectrum generating algebra $U(6)$ and an orthogonal (angular momentum) symmetry algebra $SO(3)$. A solvable limit of the model contains $SU(3)$ in its dynamical symmetry chain. The corresponding Hamiltonian is written as a linear combination of linear and quadratic Casimir invariants of all the algebras in the chain. Prompted by these facts, a Hamiltonian containing the $SU(3)$ quadratic Casimir squared is proposed to evaluate its effects on rotational bands. The additional term yields three undetermined parameters into the theory, which need be obtained from experiment. The lack of data does not allow one to perform a detailed numerical analysis, but a rather restricted one in terms of a one-parameter fit. Nevertheless, these additional terms provide a good description of rotational bands of two nuclei of interest, $^{156}\mathrm{Ga}$ and $^{234}\mathrm{U}$.