Microscopic nucleus-nucleus optical potentials from nuclear matter with uncertainty analysis from chiral forces

TL;DR

This paper develops microscopic nucleus-nucleus optical potentials using nuclear matter calculations with chiral forces, providing accurate predictions for elastic scattering and fusion cross sections, and includes an uncertainty analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach combining energy density functional and chiral nuclear forces to construct optical potentials with uncertainty quantification.

Findings

Excellent agreement with experimental elastic scattering data for heavy systems

Accurate fusion cross section predictions within the energy range studied

Uncertainty analysis highlights the reliability of the chiral force-based potentials

Abstract

Nucleus-nucleus optical potentials are constructed from an energy density functional approach first outlined by Brueckner et al. The interaction term of the energy density functional comes from the complex nucleon self-energy computed in nuclear matter with two- and three-body chiral nuclear forces. Nuclear density distributions are calculated from Skyrme functionals constrained to the equations of state calculated from the same chiral forces used for the self-energy. Predictions for elastic scattering cross sections and fusion cross sections are compared to experimental data. Very good agreement is found with experiment for elastic scattering of heavier nucleus-nucleus systems at energies in the range of $20 < E < 90$ MeV/N, while accurate descriptions of lighter and lower-energy systems may require the inclusion of collective excitations.