Quantum Description of Central Nuclear Reactions

Michigan State University, East Lansing MI

Investigators

Abstract

The dynamics of central nuclear collisions involves simultaneous and nontrivial interactions of many nuclear constituents. Such interactions are a challenge for nuclear theory and are important for studies of the physics of the early Universe. Unfortunately, current descriptions of nuclear collisions rely on the semiclassical limit of the dynamics. Overcoming previous technical difficulties in the numerical implementation of the quantal theory of nuclear reactions, in this project the investigator and his collaborators will develop new strategies for the numerical implementation of this many-body theory in one and two dimensions, before attacking the realistic three-dimensional case. The resulting upgrade in software infrastructure for nuclear collisions will support the experimental program at the future Facility for Rare Isotope Beams currently under construction on the Michigan State University campus. The computational methods developed in this project are likely to benefit research in other fields, such as studies of electron transport across nanoscale electronic devices in electrical engineering, and will train the postdoc and student involved in cutting-edge computational techniques. This project aims to develop the computational framework for a quantal description of central nuclear collisions based on a nonequilibrium Green functions approach that is expected to open up the path towards a first-principles description of nuclear reactions. By following the quantal rather than the semiclassical evolution of many-body systems, the PI and his collaborators will reduce the level of uncertainty in the analysis of energetic collisions for the study of bulk nuclear properties, including the symmetry energy and the transport properties of matter. The successful completion of this project will provide useful tools for studies of head-on nuclear collisions and excitations of collective resonances, and will prepare the ground for future studies of collisions at finite impact parameter.