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Schuetrumpf, B.

Publications and source records attributed to Schuetrumpf, B..

9 records
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DOE OSTI2019

Colloquium : Superheavy elements: Oganesson and beyond

During the last decade, six new superheavy elements were added into the seventh period of the periodic table, with the approval of their names and symbols. This milestone was followed by proclaiming 2019 the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements by the United Nations General Assembly. According to theory, due to their large atomic numbers, the new arrivals are expected to be qualitatively and quantitatively different from lighter species. The questions pertaining to superheavy atoms and nuclei are in the forefront of research in nuclear and atomic physics and chemistry. Lastly, this Colloquium offers a broad perspective on the field and outlines future challenges.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2018

The TDHF code Sky3D version 1.1

The nuclear mean-field model based on Skyrme forces or related density functionals has found widespread application to the description of nuclear ground states, collective vibrational excitations, and heavy-ion collisions. The code Sky3D solves the static or dynamic equations on a three-dimensional Cartesian mesh with isolated or periodic boundary conditions and no further symmetry assumptions. Pairing can be included in the BCS approximation for the static case. The code is implemented with a view to allow easy modifications for including additional physics or special analysis of the results.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Probing Sizes and Shapes of Nobelium Isotopes by Laser Spectroscopy

Until recently, ground-state nuclear moments of the heaviest nuclei could only be inferred from nuclear spectroscopy, where model assumptions are required. Here, laser spectroscopy in combination with modern atomic structure calculations is now able to probe these moments directly, in a comprehensive and nuclear- model-independent way. In this work, we reported on unique access to the differential mean-square charge radii of 252,253,254 No, and therefore to changes in nuclear size and shape. State-of-the-art nuclear density functional calculations describe well the changes in nuclear charge radii in the region of the heavy actinides, indicating an appreciable central depression in the deformed proton density distribution in 252,254 No isotopes.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Cluster formation in precompound nuclei in the time-dependent framework

Background: Modern applications of nuclear time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) are often capable of providing quantitative description of heavy ion reactions. However, the structures of precompound (preequilibrium, prefission) states produced in heavy ion reactions are difficult to assess theoretically in TDDFT as the single-particle density alone is a weak indicator of shell structure and cluster states. Purpose: We employ the time-dependent nucleon localization function (NLF) to reveal the structure of precompound states in nuclear reactions involving light and medium-mass ions. We primarily focus on spin saturated systems with N = Z . Furthermore, we study reactions with oxygen and carbon ions, for which some experimental evidence for α clustering in precompound states exists. Method: We utilize the symmetry-free TDDFT approach with the Skyrme energy density functional UNEDF1 and compute the time-dependent NLFs to describe 16 O + 16 O, 40 Ca + 16 O, 40 Ca + 40 Ca , and 16,18 O + 12 C collisions at energies above the Coulomb barrier. Results: We show that NLFs reveal a variety of time-dependent modes involving cluster structures. For instance, the 16 O + 16 O collision results in a vibrational mode of a quasimolecular α - 12 C - 12 C- α state. For heavier ions, a variety of cluster configurations are predicted. For the collision of 16,18 O + 12 C, we showed that the precompound system has a tendency to form α clusters. This result supports the experimental findings that the presence of cluster structures in the projectile and target nuclei gives rise to strong entrance channel effects and enhanced α emission. Conclusion: The time-dependent nucleon localization measure is a very good indicator of cluster structures in complex precompound states formed in heavy-ion fusion reactions. Finally, the localization reveals the presence of collective vibrations involving cluster structures, which dominate the initial dynamics of the fusing system.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Nucleon localization and fragment formation in nuclear fission

An electron localization measure was originally introduced to characterize chemical bond structures in molecules. Recently, a nucleon localization based on Hartree-Fock densities has been introduced to investigate α-cluster structures in light nuclei. Compared to the local nucleonic densities, the nucleon localization function has been shown to be an excellent indicator of shell effects and cluster correlations. In this work, using the spatial nucleon localization measure, we investigated the emergence of fragments in fissioning heavy nuclei using the self-consistent energy density functional method with a quantified energy density functional optimized for fission studies. We studied the particle densities and spatial nucleon localization distributions along the fission pathways of 264 Fm, 232 Th, and 240 Pu. We demonstrated that the fission fragments were formed fairly early in the evolution, well before scission. To illustrate the usefulness of the localization measure, we showed how the hyperdeformed state of 232 Th could be understood in terms of a quasimolecular state made of 132 Sn and 100 Zr fragments. Compared to nucleonic distributions, the nucleon localization function more effectively quantifies nucleonic clustering: its characteristic oscillating pattern, traced back to shell effects, is a clear fingerprint of cluster/fragment configurations. This is of particular interest for studies of fragment formation and fragment identification in fissioning nuclei.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Time-dependent density functional theory with twist-averaged boundary conditions

Time-dependent density functional theory is widely used to describe excitations of many-fermion systems. In its many applications, three-dimensional (3D) coordinate-space representation is used, and infinitedomain calculations are limited to a finite volume represented by a spatial box. For finite quantum systems (atoms, molecules, nuclei, hadrons), the commonly used periodic or reflecting boundary conditions introduce spurious quantization of the continuum states and artificial reflections from boundary; hence, an incorrect treatment of evaporated particles. The finite-volume artifacts for finite systems can be practically cured by invoking an absorbing potential in a certain boundary region sufficiently far from the described system. However, such absorption cannot be applied in the calculations of infinite matter (crystal electrons, quantum fluids, neutron star crust), which suffer from unphysical effects stemming from a finite computational box used. Here, twist-averaged boundary conditions (TABC) have been used successfully to diminish the finite-volume effects. In this work, we extend TABC to time-dependent modes. We demonstrate that by using TABC, one can reduce finite-volume effects drastically without adding any additional parameters associated with absorption at large distances. Moreover, TABC are an obvious choice for time-dependent calculations for infinite systems. Furthermore, since TABC calculations for different twists can be performed independently, the method is trivially adapted to parallel computing.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Twist-averaged boundary conditions for nuclear pasta Hartree-Fock calculations

Nuclear pasta phases, present in the inner crust of neutron stars, are associated with nucleonic matter at subsaturation densities arranged in regular shapes. Those complex phases, residing in a layer which is approximately 100-m thick, impact many features of neutron stars. Theoretical quantum-mechanical simulations of nuclear pasta are usually carried out in finite three-dimensional boxes assuming periodic boundary conditions. The resulting solutions are affected by spurious finite-size effects. To remove spurious finite-size effects, it is convenient to employ twist-averaged boundary conditions (TABC) used in condensed matter, nuclear matter, and lattice quantum chromodynamics applications. In this work, we study the effectiveness of TABC in the context of pasta phase simulations within nuclear density functional theory. We demonstrated that by applying TABC reliable results can be obtained from calculations performed in relatively small volumes. By studying various contributions to the total energy, we gain insights into pasta phases in mid-density range. Future applications will include the TABC extension of the adaptive multiresolution 3D Hartree-Fock solver and Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov TABC applications to superfluid pasta phases and complex nucleonic topologies as in fission.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗