Microscopic Optical Potential from Brueckner-Hartree-Fock Theory

TL;DR

This paper develops a microscopic optical potential for nucleon-nucleus scattering based on Brueckner-Hartree-Fock theory, successfully describing scattering data for calcium isotopes below 200 MeV with analytic formulas.

Contribution

It introduces a new microscopic optical potential derived from BHF calculations, extended to finite nuclei with local density approximation and finite-range effects.

Findings

Real and imaginary potentials match phenomenological models

Accurate predictions of scattering observables for calcium isotopes

Analytic forms facilitate experimental data analysis

Abstract

Modern Brueckner-Hartree-Fock (BHF) calculations are very successful in describing various properties of symmetric and asymmetric nuclear matter. Within BHF theory a microscopic optical potential (MOP) for nucleon-nucleus scattering is developed. First, we parametrize the energy and density dependence of complex optical potentials in nuclear matter based on BHF calculations and then we construct the MOP for finite nuclei with the local density approximation extended to include the finite-range effects. The density distribution and the spin-orbit contribution are calculated from the Hartree-Fock (HF) approximation with LNS5 Skyrme interaction, the latter being constrained by the BHF results. The central real and imaginary potentials turn out to be quantitatively consistent with the phenomenological global Koning-Delaroche (KD) potentials. The performance of MOP is evaluated by considering neutron/proton scattering on $^{40,48}$Ca. The elastic scattering differential cross sections, analyzing powers and total/reaction cross sections are analyzed in the energy below 200 MeV. A good agreement between the theoretical results and the measurements is achieved. Since our results are presented in the analytic forms, they can thus be used easily in the analysis of the experimental data of the nucleon scattering on exotic nuclei.