Study of Nuclear Clustering from an Ab Initio Perspective.

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Physics
• Quantum Many-Body Problem
• Computational Physics

Background:

• Understanding the nuclear quantum many-body problem requires methods that capture structure, clustering, and reactions.
• Existing methods often struggle to simultaneously address these aspects in a unified framework.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel ab initio approach for the nuclear quantum many-body problem.
• To seamlessly integrate the treatment of nuclear structure, clustering, and reactions.
• To provide a computationally tractable method for complex nuclear systems.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing the configuration interaction technique.
• Employing the resonating group method with a harmonic oscillator basis.
• Ensuring translational invariance and adherence to the Pauli principle.

Main Results:

• Successfully bridged structure, clustering, and reaction dynamics.
• Demonstrated the method's capability in studies of ^{8,10}Be isotopes.
• Explored 3α clustering phenomena in ^{12}C.

Conclusions:

• The new ab initio approach offers a unified and accurate description of nuclear systems.
• This method provides a powerful tool for investigating nuclear reactions and cluster structures.
• Future applications can extend to a wider range of nuclei and nuclear phenomena.