https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/i2009-10780-y
Letter
Non-empirical pairing energy density functional
First order in the nuclear plus Coulomb two-body interaction
1
Université de Lyon - Lyon; Université Lyon 1 - Villeurbanne; CNRS/IN2P3; Institut de Physique Nucléaire de Lyon, Lyon, France
2
CEA, Centre de Saclay, IRFU/Service de Physique Nucléaire, F-91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
3
National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, 48824, East Lansing, MI, USA
* e-mail: thomas.duguet@cea.fr
Received:
31
December
2008
Revised:
18
March
2009
Accepted:
20
March
2009
Published online:
30
April
2009
We perform systematic calculations of pairing gaps in semi-magic nuclei across the nuclear chart using the Energy Density Functional method and a non-empirical pairing functional derived, without further approximation, at lowest order in the two-nucleon vacuum interaction, including the Coulomb force. The correlated single-particle motion is accounted for by the SLy4 semi-empirical functional. Rather unexpectedly, both neutron and proton pairing gaps thus generated are systematically close to experimental data. Such a result further suggests that missing effects, i.e. higher partial waves of the NN interaction, the NNN interaction and the coupling to collective fluctuations, provide an overall contribution that is sub-leading as for generating pairing gaps in nuclei. We find that including the Coulomb interaction is essential as it reduces proton pairing gaps by up to 40%.
PACS: 21.60.Jz Nuclear Density Functional Theory and extensions (includes Hartree-Fock and random-phase approximations) – / 21.30.Cb Nuclear forces in vacuum – / 21.30.Fe Forces in hadronic systems and effective interactions – / 21.60.De Ab initio methods –
© SIF, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2009
