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Physical Review

Linearization of the Pairing Hamiltonian. II

Richard R. Chasman

Published May 20, 1968• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A single-intermediate-state (SIS) approximation is developed for dealing with the pairing Hamiltonian. With the aid of this approximation, expressions are obtained for the ground-state energy of an ($n+2$)-particle system in terms of the ground-state wave function of the $n$-particle system. Results are obtained for excited-state energies in the $n$- and ($n\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1$)-particle systems. Numerical comparisons are made with reliable results obtained with other techniques. It is observed that the results obtained from the SIS approximation are quite accurate. The SIS approximation is also used to point out one source of error inherent in the BCS solution of the pairing problem.

DOI
10.1103/physrev.169.782

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A single-intermediate-state (SIS) approximation is developed for dealing with the pairing Hamiltonian. With the aid of this approximation, expressions are obtained for the ground-state energy of an (n+2n+2n+2)-particle system in terms of the ground-state wave function of the nnn-particle system. Results are obtained for excited-state energies in the nnn- and (n\ifmmode±\else\textpm\fi1n\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1n\ifmmode±\else\textpm\fi1)-particle systems. Numerical comparisons are made with reliable results obtained with other techniques. It is observed that the results obtained from the SIS approximation are quite accurate. The SIS approximation is also used to point out one source of error inherent in the BCS solution of the pairing problem.
A previous study of the pairing interaction Hamiltonian by means of the equations of motion is extended. In the prior note, ground-state and single-quasiparticle properties were treated by an approximation method which was strictly particle conserving. According to the general theory, further improvement of the ground-state energies and single-particle occupation probabilities requires information about excited states of seniority zero and unity. A nonlinear, number-conserving random-phase approximation is developed for this purpose. Numerical calculations are carried out in a linearized version which is almost equivalent to the usual quasi-boson approximation. As part of the approximation, the conservation-of-particles condition is relaxed for the excited states. Results of the numerical study establish the consistency of the assumptions made and yield improved ground-state and single-particle properties. By comparison with the few models for which exact numerical results are available, the results of this paper are seen to be comparable with or superior to those of other improved approximation methods so far reported, especially so as the number of particles increases. Finally, it is pointed out that just as the results of the previous paper provide the input data for the present work, the results reported here can serve in like manner for more elaborate approximations, which are proposed.
Exact eigenstates of the pairing-force Hamiltonian have been calculated for 2N2N2N particles in 2N2N2N equispaced, doubly degenerate single-particle levels for N=4,8,12,and16N=4, 8, 12, \mathrm{and} 16N=4,8,12,and16. The states calculated are the ground state and the first two excited seniority-zero and seniority-two states. These states were calculated for values of the interaction strength that give pairing energies that are typical of nuclear systems. Numerical results are given for the energies and occupation probabilities of these states and are compared with the corresponding results of the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory. It is shown that the BCS theory is a worse approximation for the larger values of NNN than it is for the smaller values, with errors as high as 140% (20%) for the excitation energies of the seniority-zero (-two) states. The methods used in the calculation of these states are outlined.
The exact solution of the reduced pairing Hamiltonian is compared to the BCS mean field approximation for low particle numbers in finite systems. A combination of two different methods for solving the Richardson equations is presented. One of the methods originally intended to be solved analytically is instead adapted to a numerical scheme. The comparison includes the pairing gap parameter, as approximated by the three-point formula in the exact solution, and a microcanonical investigation of systems with levels of varying degeneracies. The gaps as calculated within the two approaches is found to deviate more and more from each other with increasing pairing strength. However testing the three-point-formula with the BCS approximation suggests that this might be due to the formula itself. Furthermore the BCS approximation, when re-evaluating the gap for each excitation, does a very good job at reproducing the energy spectra as obtained for the Richardson solution of the highly excited states where the pairing effects are small. However for the low lying excitations the assessment is not so good. When keeping the gap constant for all excitations the excitation spectra of the BCS approximation broaden a lot more than that of the exact method. This procedure gives unreasonable results for the systems and low particle numbers considered.
The mean values of a many-body Hamiltonian including a proton-neutron pairing term and matrix elements of one-, two-, and four-body operators within a basis of particle-number-projected BCS states are analytically expressed in terms of a single function Q(N)Q(N)Q(N) depending on the number of particles, NNN. The function Q(N)Q(N)Q(N) is calculated using a recursion in NNN in which the shells and the BCS angles are kept the same for any iteration step. An illustrative example is numerically considered in a restricted single-particle space. Some specific features of the standard BCS, the projection after variation approach, and the variation after projection formalism are pointed out.
The mean values of a many-body Hamiltonian including a proton-neutron pairing term and matrix elements of one-, two- and four-body operators within a basis of particle number projected BCS states, are analytically expressed in terms of a single function Q(N) depending on the number of particles, NNN. The function Q(N) is calculated using a recursion in NNN in which the shells and the BCS angles are kept the same for any step of iteration. An illustrative example is numerically considered in a restricted single particle space. Some specific features for the standard BCS, the projection after variation approach as well as for the variation after projection formalism, are pointed out.
Expressions for the ground and excited state energies of a system of nucleons interacting through pairing forces are given as a power series in inverse powers of the number of particles. The expressions are valid for systems with superfluid ground states and either J=0 or L=0 pairing. The first three terms in the expansion are given explicitly, and they exhibit excitations with both vibrational and rotational (in isospin space) character. Analytical and numerical results are given for a model system with a two-level single-particle spectrum.