New method for calculating the potential energy of deformed nuclei within the liquid-drop model

The method that we previously developed for going over from double volume integrals to double surface integrals in calculating the Coulomb energy of nuclei that have a sharp surface is generalized to the case of nuclei where the range of nuclear forces is finite and where the nuclear surface is diffuse. New formulas for calculating the Coulomb and the nuclear energy of deformed nuclei are obtained within this approach. For a spherically symmetric nucleus, in which case there is an analytic solution to the problem in question, the results are compared with those that are quoted in the literature, and it is shown that the respective results coincide identically. A differential formulation of the method developed previously by Krappe, Nix, and Sierk for going over from double volume integrals to double surface integrals is proposed here on the basis of the present approach.