Some advances in pairing theory
DAVID J. ROWE
Two advances are reviewed in the application of pairing-force theory in the nuclear shell model. The first exploits a discovery that a wide range of two-nucleon interactions conserve seniority as a good quantum number. Asa consequence, the eigenstates of a hamiltonian with such an interaction belong to irreducible representations of a compact unitary-symplectic group. This makes it possible to extend the simply-solvable models with J = 0 pairing forces to a much richer set of models and still obtain states uniquely classified by their seniority and angular momentum quantum numbers. Moreover, many of the low-lying energy levels of such models can be obtained algebraically; in technical terms, the models are in some cases completely solvable and in other cases partially solvable by algebraic methods. The second advance exploits the discovery that, in a coherent state representation, states of good nucleon number can be projected analytically from BCS vacuum and excited quasiparticle states. This makes it possible to perform calculations in a number-projected BCS basis without losing much of the advantage of working in a quasiparticle scheme.
Revista Mexicana de Física•Jan 1, 2001•0 citations