Determination of neutron-skin thickness using configurational information entropy

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel method using configurational information entropy (CIE) to accurately determine neutron skin thickness in neutron-rich calcium isotopes, based on nuclear density and fragmentation data.

Contribution

It demonstrates that CIE correlates linearly with neutron skin thickness, offering a new approach for its extraction in neutron-rich nuclei.

Findings

CIE correlates linearly with neutron skin thickness.

CIE derived from nuclear distributions effectively estimates neutron skin.

Method applicable to neutron-rich isotopes.

Abstract

Configurational information entropy (CIE) theory was employed to determine the neutron skin thickness of neutron-rich calcium isotopes. The nuclear density distributions and fragment cross-sections in 350 MeV/u $^{40-60}$Ca + $^{9}$Be projectile fragmentation reactions were calculated using a modified statistical abrasion-ablation model. CIE quantities were determined from the nuclear density, isotopic, mass, and charge distributions. The linear correlations between the CIE determined using the isotopic, mass, and charge distributions and the neutron skin thickness of the projectile nucleus show that CIE provides new methods to extract the neutron skin thickness of neutron-rich nuclei.