Nils Paar

Bio: Nils Paar is an academic researcher from University of Zagreb. The author has contributed to research in topics: Neutron & Dipole. The author has an hindex of 28, co-authored 143 publications receiving 3056 citations. Previous affiliations of Nils Paar include Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich & Technische Universität München.

Exotic modes of excitation in atomic nuclei far from stability

Abstract: We review recent studies of the evolution of collective excitations in atomic nuclei far from the valley of β-stability. Collective degrees of freedom govern essential aspects of nuclear structure, and for several decades the study of collective modes such as rotations and vibrations has played a vital role in our understanding of complex properties of nuclei. The multipole response of unstable nuclei and the possible occurrence of new exotic modes of excitation in weakly bound nuclear systems, present a rapidly growing field of research, but only few experimental studies of these phenomena have been reported so far. Valuable data on the evolution of the low-energy dipole response in unstable neutron-rich nuclei have been gathered in recent experiments, but the available information is not sufficient to determine the nature of observed excitations. Even in stable nuclei various modes of giant collective oscillations had been predicted by theory years before they were observed, and for that reason it is very important to perform detailed theoretical studies of the evolution of collective modes of excitation in nuclei far from stability. We therefore discuss the modern theoretical tools that have been developed in recent years for the description of collective excitations in weakly bound nuclei. The review focuses on the applications of these models to studies of the evolution of low-energy dipole modes from stable nuclei to systems near the particle emission threshold, to analyses of various isoscalar modes, those for which data are already available, as well as those that could be observed in future experiments, to a description of charge-exchange modes and their evolution in neutron-rich nuclei, and to studies of the role of exotic low-energy modes in astrophysical processes.

Nuclear symmetry energy and neutron skins derived from pygmy dipole resonances

Abstract: By exploiting Coulomb dissociation of high-energy radioactive beams of the neutron-rich nuclei $^{129\ensuremath{-}132}\mathrm{Sn}$ and $^{133,134}\mathrm{Sb}$, their dipole-strength distributions have been measured. A sizable fraction of ``pygmy'' dipole strength, energetically located below the giant dipole resonance, is observed in all of these nuclei. A comparison with available pygmy resonance data in stable nuclei ($^{208}\mathrm{Pb}$ and $N=82$ isotones) indicates a trend of strength increasing with the proton-to-neutron asymmetry. On theoretical grounds, employing the RQRPA approach, a one-to-one correlation is found between the pygmy strength and parameters describing the density dependence of the nuclear symmetry energy, and in turn with the thicknesses of the neutron skins. On this basis, by using the experimental pygmy strength, parameters of the nuclear symmetry energy (${a}_{4}=32.0\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1.8$ MeV and ${p}_{o}=2.3\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.8$ MeV/fm${}^{3}$) are deduced as well as neutron-skin thicknesses ${R}_{n}\ensuremath{-}{R}_{p}$ of $0.24\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.04$ fm for $^{132}\mathrm{Sn}$ and of $0.18\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.035$ fm for $^{208}\mathrm{Pb}$, both doubly magic nuclei. Astrophysical implications with regard to neutron stars are briefly addressed.

Electric dipole polarizability and the neutron skin

Abstract: The recent high-resolution measurement of the electric dipole ($E1$) polarizability ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{\mathrm{D}}$ in ${}^{208}$Pb [A. Tamii et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 062502 (2011)] provides a unique constraint on the neutron-skin thickness of this nucleus. The neutron-skin thickness ${r}_{\mathrm{skin}}$ of ${}^{208}$Pb is a quantity of critical importance for our understanding of a variety of nuclear and astrophysical phenomena. To assess the model dependence of the correlation between ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{\mathrm{D}}$ and ${r}_{\mathrm{skin}}$, we carry out systematic calculations for ${}^{208}$Pb, ${}^{132}$Sn, and ${}^{48}$Ca based on the nuclear density functional theory using both nonrelativistic and relativistic energy density functionals. Our analysis indicates that whereas individual models exhibit a linear dependence between ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{\mathrm{D}}$ and ${r}_{\mathrm{skin}}$, this correlation is not universal when one combines predictions from a host of different models. By averaging over these model predictions, we provide estimates with associated systematic errors for ${r}_{\mathrm{skin}}$ and ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{\mathrm{D}}$ for the nuclei under consideration. We conclude that precise measurements of ${r}_{\mathrm{skin}}$ in both ${}^{48}$Ca and ${}^{208}$Pb---combined with the recent measurement of ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{\mathrm{D}}$---should significantly constrain the isovector sector of the nuclear energy density functional.

Quasiparticle random phase approximation based on the relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov model

Abstract: The relativistic quasiparticle random phase approximation (RQRPA) is formulated in the canonical single-nucleon basis of the relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov (RHB) model. For the interaction in the particle-hole channel effective Lagrangians with nonlinear meson self-interactions are used, and pairing correlations are described by the pairing part of the finite-range Gogny interaction. The RQRPA configuration space includes the Dirac sea of negative-energy states. Both in the particle-hole and particle-particle channels, the same interactions are used in the RHB calculation of the ground state and in the matrix equations of the RQRPA. The RHB+RQRPA approach is tested in the example of multipole excitations of neutron-rich oxygen isotopes. The RQRPA is applied in the analysis of the evolution of the low-lying isovector dipole strength in Sn isotopes and N=82 isotones.

I and i

Abstract: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality. Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

Phd by thesis

Abstract: Deposits of clastic carbonate-dominated (calciclastic) sedimentary slope systems in the rock record have been identified mostly as linearly-consistent carbonate apron deposits, even though most ancient clastic carbonate slope deposits fit the submarine fan systems better. Calciclastic submarine fans are consequently rarely described and are poorly understood. Subsequently, very little is known especially in mud-dominated calciclastic submarine fan systems. Presented in this study are a sedimentological core and petrographic characterisation of samples from eleven boreholes from the Lower Carboniferous of Bowland Basin (Northwest England) that reveals a >250 m thick calciturbidite complex deposited in a calciclastic submarine fan setting. Seven facies are recognised from core and thin section characterisation and are grouped into three carbonate turbidite sequences. They include: 1) Calciturbidites, comprising mostly of highto low-density, wavy-laminated bioclast-rich facies; 2) low-density densite mudstones which are characterised by planar laminated and unlaminated muddominated facies; and 3) Calcidebrites which are muddy or hyper-concentrated debrisflow deposits occurring as poorly-sorted, chaotic, mud-supported floatstones. These

Self-consistent mean-field models for nuclear structure

Abstract: The authors review the present status of self-consistent mean-field (SCMF) models for describing nuclear structure and low-energy dynamics. These models are presented as effective energy-density functionals. The three most widely used variants of SCMF's based on a Skyrme energy functional, a Gogny force, and a relativistic mean-field Lagrangian are considered side by side. The crucial role of the treatment of pairing correlations is pointed out in each case. The authors discuss other related nuclear structure models and present several extensions beyond the mean-field model which are currently used. Phenomenological adjustment of the model parameters is discussed in detail. The performance quality of the SCMF model is demonstrated for a broad range of typical applications.