Protons and neutrons in ‘exotic’ stellar nuclei
Daily discoveries and interpretations related to particles with exotic names have often stolen the headlines from more familiar nuclear physics related to the well known particles that make up atomic nuclei, protons and neutrons, collectively known as nucleons. However, nuclear physics has been expanding its horizons as well, in large part thanks to the availability of radioactive ion beams (RIBs) that have provided access to exotic atomic nuclei and previously unknown nuclear phenomena. Stable atoms can be transformed into short-lived exotic radioactive isotopes. Their creation in the laboratory with the use of RIBs has particular significance to understanding the origins and nature of the Universe. These radioactive nuclei are continuously created in stellar cores via nuclear reactions that keep stars like our Sun burning. Mean Field theory is a method conventionally used to simplify and thus quantify correlations in nuclear (many-body) systems. In essence, it replaces a many-body system with an effective one-body system. European researchers initiated the ‘Static and dynamical description of correlated nuclear systems’ (SDDCNS) project to understand how the properties of nucleons are modified inside exotic nuclei by evaluating nuclear correlations beyond the scope of the Mean Field approach. Correlations of various types (ways in which the behaviours of two or more particles are related) play an important role in many-body nuclear systems. The fellow evaluated both static (stationary in time) and dynamical (changing with time) correlations. Among the major results obtained, the fellow developed reliable algorithms for microscopic calculations of bulk (static) properties in asymmetric systems that confirmed experimental results. In addition, algorithms describing the dynamics of nuclear collisions in one-dimension (1D) were implemented and extended to higher dimensions leading to identification of strong signs of correlation. Continuing research in this field should provide important descriptions of the properties of nucleons in exotic radioactive nuclei with implications for understanding the nuclear reactions in stellar bodies.