Microscopic Theory of Nuclear Fission

TL;DR

This paper reviews microscopic theories of nuclear fission, emphasizing their basis in fundamental nuclear interactions and recent computational advances that enable more predictive modeling of this complex, large-amplitude nuclear process.

Contribution

It provides an overview of techniques and recent successes in microscopic modeling of nuclear fission using fundamental nuclear forces and quantum many-body methods.

Findings

Advances in computational power improve microscopic fission models.

Microscopic theories can now more accurately predict fission phenomena.

Recent successes demonstrate the potential of these methods in nuclear physics.

Abstract

Nuclear fission represents the ultimate test for microscopic theories of nuclear structure and reactions. Fission is a large-amplitude, time-dependent phenomenon taking place in a self-bound, strongly-interacting many-body system. It should, at least in principle, emerge from the complex interactions of nucleons within the nucleus. The goal of microscopic theories is to build a consistent and predictive theory of nuclear fission by using as only ingredients protons and neutrons, nuclear forces and quantum many-body methods. Thanks to a constant increase in computing power, such a goal has never seemed more within reach. This chapter gives an overview both of the set of techniques used in microscopic theory to describe the fission process and of some recent successes achieved by this class of methods.