We investigate the generic pairing properties of shell-model many-body Hamiltonians drawn from ensembles of random two-body matrix elements. Many features of pairing that are commonly attributed to the interaction are in fact seen in a large part of the ensemble space. Not only do the spectra show evidence of pairing with favored $J=0$ ground states and an energy gap, but the relationship between ground-state wave functions of neighboring nuclei shows signatures of pairing as well. Matrix elements of pair creation-annihilation operators between ground states tend to be strongly enhanced. Furthermore, the same or similar pair operators connect several ground states along an isotopic chain. This algebraic structure is reminiscent of the generalized seniority model. Thus pairing may be encoded to a certain extent in the Fock space connectivity of the interacting shell model even without specific features of the interaction required.
We investigate the generic pairing properties of shell-model many-body Hamiltonians drawn from ensembles of random two-body matrix elements. Many features of pairing that are commonly attributed to the interaction are in fact seen in a large part of the ensemble space. Not only do the spectra show evidence of pairing with favored J=0 ground states and an energy gap, but the relationship between ground-state wave functions of neighboring nuclei shows signatures of pairing as well. Matrix elements of pair creation-annihilation operators between ground states tend to be strongly enhanced. Furthermore, the same or similar pair operators connect several ground states along an isotopic chain. This algebraic structure is reminiscent of the generalized seniority model. Thus pairing may be encoded to a certain extent in the Fock space connectivity of the interacting shell model even without specific features of the interaction required.
Low-lying states in nuclei are investigated using an ensemble of random interactions. Both in the nuclear shell model and in the interacting boson model we find a dominance of JP=0+ ground states. It is shown that this feature is not due to time reversal symmetry. In the shell model, evidence is found for the occurrence of pairing properties, and in the interacting boson model for both vibrational and rotational band structures. Our results suggest that these features represent general and robust properties of the model space, and do not depend on details of the interactions.
Nuclei at low excitation energy exhibit such well-ordered behavior, such as rotational and vibrational bands as well as pairing gaps, that they are commonly described with algebraic models; but does such order originate in the details of the nuclear force, or are they emergent properties of dense fermion systems? To answer this, I consider ensembles of random two-body shell-model interactions and examine the low-lying spectra and wavefunctions. Some striking regularities emerge: in particular, pairing appears to be a ubiquitous phenomenon, even in the absence of explicit pairing interactions! These results are remarkably insensitive to the detailed definition of the ensemble.
Embedded random matrix ensembles generated by random interactions (of low body rank and usually two-body) in the presence of a one-body mean field, introduced in nuclear structure physics, are now established to be indispensable in describing statistical properties of a large number of isolated finite quantum many-particle systems. Lie algebra symmetries of the interactions, as identified from nuclear shell model and the interacting boson model, led to the introduction of a variety of embedded ensembles (EEs). These ensembles with a mean field and chaos generating two-body interaction generate in three different stages, delocalization of wave functions in the Fock space of the mean-field basis states. The last stage corresponds to what one may call thermalization and complex nuclei, as seen from many shell model calculations, lie in this region. Besides briefly describing them, their recent applications to nuclear structure are presented and they are (i) nuclear level densities with interactions; (ii) orbit occupancies; (iii) neutrinoless double beta decay nuclear transition matrix elements as transition strengths. In addition, their applications are also presented briefly that go beyond nuclear structure and they are (i) fidelity, decoherence, entanglement and thermalization in isolated finite quantum systems with interactions; (ii) quantum transport in disordered networks connected by many-body interactions with centrosymmetry; (iii) semicircle to Gaussian transition in eigenvalue densities with [Formula: see text]-body random interactions and its relation to the Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev (SYK) model for majorana fermions.
The energy systematics of medium and heavy even-even nuclei shows very regular features, such as for example the tripartite classification of nuclear structure into seniority, anharmonic vibrator and rotor regions [1,2]. Traditionally, this regular behavior has been interpreted as a consequence of particular interactions, such as an attractive pairing force in semimagic nuclei and an attractive neutron-proton quadrupole-quadrupole interaction for deformed nuclei. It came as a surprise, therefore, that recent studies of even-even nuclei in the nuclear shell model [3–5] and in the interacting boson model (IBM) [6–8] with random interactions also displayed a high degree of order. Both models showed a statistical preference for L = 0 ground states, despite the random nature of the interactions. In addition, in the shell model evidence was found for the occurrence of pairing properties [5], and in the IBM for vibrational and rotational bands [6,7]. These unexpected results have sparked a large number of investigations to try to understand their origin [9]. In this contribution, we discuss the phenomenom of emerging regular spectral features from the IBM with random interactions, and its
Embedded Random Matrix Ensembles to Statistical Shell Model: Operation of q-normal forms
Embedded random matrix ensembles operating in nuclear shell model spaces, with nucleons occupying a finite set of single particle orbits and interacting via a two-body interaction, form the basis for statistical shell model. With sufficiently strong interaction, the level densities in shell model spaces take close to a Gaussian form and transition strength distributions close to a bivariate Gaussian form. In practice, partitioning via spherical configurations (m~) and angular momentum J (also isospin where appropriate) are essential. The resulting statistical spectroscopy or statistical shell model was applied successfully in the past in some studies of nuclear level densities, orbit occupancies, β-decay matrix elements and so on. Going beyond these, recently it is recognized that embedded ensembles, in a better approximation, generate in-fact q-normal form (q=1 gives Gaussian and q=0 Wigner's semi-circle) for density of eigenvalues, bivariate q-normal form for transition strengths and conditional q-normal form for strength functions. These then allow us to develop statistical shell model with q-normal forms. These new developments in embedded ensembles and statistical shell model are briefly reviewed in this paper. Also described, using some examples, is the role of the q parameter in generating statistical properties of general quantum many-particle systems.
Background: In quantum mechanics, entanglement is the most striking phenomenon which has no counterpart in classical systems. Although different approaches have already been developed to study correlations in the case of indistinguishable particles, the exploration of the so-called mode entanglement is still in its initial stage in nuclear physics.Purpose: We aim to study mode entanglement in the seniority model, derive analytic formulas for the one-body reduced density matrix of states with seniority $\ensuremath{\nu}=0,\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}1,\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}2$, and 3, and also determine the particle number dependence of the one-body reduced density matrix for arbitrary seniority. In addition, we compare the predictions of the seniority model with the results of the shell model to gain insight into the structure and correlations of the ground and lowest yrast states.Methods: In the seniority model the analytic results are calculated using the quasispin formalism. The numerical shell model calculations are carried out in the standard shell model framework using an inert core. The applied realistic effective interactions are derived earlier using the G-matrix formalism. The density matrix renormalization group method is also applied in order to directly calculate the mode entropies.Results: In the seniority model simple analytical expressions are given for the mode entropies. The peculiar behavior of the half-filled shells and the seniority-zero states is revealed. Numerical results are presented for the lightest stable calcium isotopes and for 94Ru nucleus.Conclusions: For 94Ru, the seniority model accounts for the 0g9/2 mode entropies, but seniority mixing is important for certain yrast states. Interaction induced quantum fluctuations decrease the occupation of the 0f5/2, 1p3/2, and 1p1/2 shells, and result in non-negligible mode entropies on these shells, too, clearly outside the scope of the simple (0g9/2)4 seniority model. The 0f7/2 shell based seniority model is more accurate for the Ca isotopes, but seniority mixing is substantial for some 44Ca yrast states, too. Mode and one-body entanglement entropies are useful tools to investigate the structure of quantum correlations in nuclei.