Impact of intrinsic electromagnetic structure on the nuclear charge radius in relativistic density functional theory

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Summary

The study explores the effects of intrinsic electromagnetic structure on nuclear charge radius in relativistic density functional theory, finding that these corrections improve the description of charge radii evolution in Pb, Sn, and Cd isotopes.

Highlights

• Intrinsic electromagnetic structure corrections improve the description of charge radii evolution.
• The corrections are crucial for accurately describing the kink at N=126 in Pb isotopes.
• Pairing correlations affect the occupation of neutron orbitals around the Fermi surface.
• The intrinsic neutron contribution is responsible for the shape of nuclear charge distribution at the surface.
• The neutron spin-orbit contribution changes smoothly with increasing neutron number.
• The study uses relativistic functionals PC-PK1, PC-F1, DD-ME2, and DD-PC1.
• The results are compared to experimental data for Pb, Sn, and Cd isotopes.

Key Insights

• The intrinsic electromagnetic structure corrections are essential for accurately describing the evolution of nuclear charge radii, particularly in the Pb isotopic chain where they improve the prediction of the kink at N=126.
• The pairing correlations significantly affect the occupation of neutron orbitals around the Fermi surface, which in turn influences the point-proton RMS radius and the intrinsic EM structure corrections.
• The intrinsic neutron contribution plays a crucial role in determining the shape of the nuclear charge distribution at the surface region, which falls more rapidly with increasing neutron numbers.
• The neutron spin-orbit contribution exhibits a smooth change with increasing neutron number, which is attributed to the increase of the occupation probabilities of the neutron subshell 1i13/2.
• The study highlights the importance of considering both the intrinsic EM structure corrections and pairing correlations in relativistic density functional theory for a more accurate description of nuclear charge radii.
• The use of different relativistic functionals (PC-PK1, PC-F1, DD-ME2, and DD-PC1) demonstrates the robustness of the results and the importance of intrinsic EM structure corrections in describing charge radii evolution.
• The comparison with experimental data for Pb, Sn, and Cd isotopes validates the theoretical approach and emphasizes the need for including intrinsic EM structure corrections in future studies of nuclear charge radii.

Mindmap

Citation

Xie, H., & Li, J. (2023). Impact of intrinsic electromagnetic structure on the nuclear charge radius in relativistic density functional theory. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/ARXIV.2308.02309