The Curious Case of Neutron-Rich Nuclei: Exploring weakly bound Nuclei with Ab Initio Nuclear Theory
Dr. Anna McCoy
(PhD Class of 2018)
Assistant Physicist
Argonne National Laboratory
With the advent of next-generation rare-isotope beam facilities such as FRIB, together with complementary programs at laboratories around the world, experimental studies of nuclei at the extremes of the nuclear landscape are becoming increasingly accessible. At the same time, advances in ab initio nuclear theory, which begins from the underlying interactions between nucleons, are extending the reach of first-principles calculations to increasingly complex systems, including regions where experimental information remains limited. In parallel, improved methods for quantifying theoretical uncertainties are strengthening the connection between theory and experiment.
Despite this progress, nuclei far from stability remain a major theoretical challenge. In these weakly bound systems, the interplay between single-particle structure and collectivity gives rise to striking phenomena such as parity inversion, intruder configurations, shape coexistence, and halo structure. In this seminar, I will discuss how these features emerge in ab initio calculations of neutron-rich beryllium and carbon isotopes, and highlight the role of approximate symmetries in organizing their spectra. I will also show how the appearance of these exotic structural features complicates the task of making accurate and predictive theoretical calculations.
Hosted by Prof. Caprio
Zoom link: https://notredame.zoom.us/j/99165675577.