Properties of nuclear and neutron matter in a relativistic Hartree-Fock theory

Relativistic Hartree-Fock (HF) equations are derived for an infinite system of mesons and baryons in the framework of a renormalizable relativistic quantum field theory. The derivation is based on a diagrammatic approach and Dyson's equation for the baryon propagator. The result is a set of coupled, nonlinear integral equations for the baryon self-energy with a self-consistency condition on the single-particle spectrum. The HF equations are solved for nuclear and neutron matter in the Walecka model, which contains neutral scalar and vector mesons. After renormalizing model parameters to reproduce nuclear matter saturation properties, HF results at low to moderate densities are similar to those in the mean-field (Hartree) approximation. Self-consistent exchange corrections to the Hartree equation of state become negligible at high densities. Rho- and pi-meson exchanges are incorporated using a renormalizable gauge-theory model. A chiral transformation of the lagrangian is used to replace the pseudoscalar πN coupling with a pseudovector coupling, for which one-pion exchange is a reasonable first approximation. This transformation maintains the model's renormalizability so that corrections may be evaluated. Pion exchange has a small effect on the HF results of the Walecka model and brings HF results in closer agreement with the mean-field theory. The diagrammatic techniques used here retain the mesonic degrees of freedom and are simple enough to be extended to more refined self-consistent approximations.     

A simple model for short-range correlations in nuclear matter

It is shown that Pauli blocking and short-range correlation effects, which strongly renormalize the bare nucleon-nucleon interaction in the medium, can be summarized in a correlation operator which has an extremely simple structure. The use of such a simple correlation operator leads to a form of Brueckner's reaction-matrix interaction which is very convenient for applications. The effective interaction introduced by the Jülich-Stony Brook group and extensively used in the study of the spin-isospin excitation modes in nuclei is derived from a meson exchange potential.     

A relativistic Hartree-Fock model for quark systems

The “relativistic H—F” scheme is applied to baryons and finite multiquark sustems. A two-body confinement potential (r, r² or r³) and the one-gluon-exchange interaction are incorporated. The electric OGE term is treated consistently in all considered systems. With the electric OGE term included, the solutions indicate the little bag. (Os)-closed multiquark states, strange or non-strange, cannot be lower in energy than an aggregate of Δ or Λ.     

Saturation of nuclear matter and short-range correlations

A fully self-consistent treatment of short-range correlations in nuclear matter is presented. Different implementations of the determination of the nucleon spectral functions for different interactions are shown to be consistent with each other. The resulting saturation densities are closer to the empirical result when compared with (continuous choice) Brueckner-Hartree-Fock values. Arguments for the dominance of short-range correlations in determining the nuclear matter saturation density are presented. A further survey of the role of long-range correlations suggests that the inclusion of pionic contributions to ring diagrams in nuclear matter leads to higher saturation densities than empirically observed. A possible resolution of the nuclear matter saturation problem is suggested.     

Pion tensor force and nuclear binding energy in the relativistic Hartree-Fock formalism

The binding energies of several isotopic families are studied within the relativistic Hartree-Fock approximation with the pseudovector coupling for the πN vertex, to find out a suitable strength for the effective pion tensor force (EPTF). An approximation for determining separately the contributions of the central and tensor forces generated by pion is considered. The results for heavy nuclei indicate that a realistic strength for the EPTF is smaller than a half of that appearing in the OPEP. This conclusion also applies to the results for the single-particle energies. Besides, it has been found that there is a genuine relativistic contribution of the EPTF in nuclear matter which is small but significant.     

Renormalized Hartree-Fock equations in a nuclear relativistic quantum field theory

Renormalized Hartree-Fock equations are derived for an infinite system of mesons and baryons in the framework of a relativistic quantum field theory. Direct and exchange diagrams in the baryon propagator are summed self-consistently to all orders, and the effects of occupied negative-energy states in the Dirac sea are included. The required counterterm subtractions are defined by conventional renormalization conditions, but they need not be evaluated explicitly. The result is a set of finite nonlinear integral equations for the baryon self-energy that includes vacuum fluctuation effects from virtual N$\text{N}$ pairs in the many-body wavefunction at finite density.     

On the stability of the Hartree-Fock homogeneous density solution for nuclear matter

The nuclear matter energy density used by Overhauser is shown not to be realistic. The consequence of a static density fluctuation thus seems doubtful. The application of the method of Baym, Bethe and Pethik, developed for neutron star matter problems, shows that for a more realistic nuclear energy density containing the Thomas-Fermi part plus gradient terms, both spatially periodic compression and decompression about the saturation density, augment the energy. In addition, positive gradient terms tend to prevent a rippled density.     

Effects of nuclear deformation on the form factor for direct dark matter detection

For the detection of direct dark matter, in order to extract useful information about the fundamental interactions from the data, it is crucial to properly determine the nuclear form factor. The form factor for the spin-independent cross section of collisions between dark matter particles and the nucleus has been thoroughly studied by many authors. When the analysis was carried out, the nuclei were always supposed to be spherically symmetric. In this work, we investigate the effects of the deformation of nuclei from a spherical shape to an elliptical one on the form factor. Our results indicate that as long as the ellipticity is not too large, such deformation will not cause any substantial effects. In particular, when the nuclei are randomly orientated in room-temperature circumstances, one can completely neglect them.     

The single-particle interaction in nuclear matter via the relativistic Dirac-Brueckner approach

Within the relativistic Dirac-Brueckner approach and starting from a one-boson-exchange interaction, the nucleon selfenergy is calculated above the nuclear-matter Fermi sea. The effects of Pauli blocking and energy dispersion are studied. At low energy we see a dominance of the Pauli blocking whereas at nucleon energies up to 250 MeV the dispersive effect still has a very large influence on the single-particle interaction. From the selfenergy a Schrödinger optical potential is deduced, for which the DB results nicely agree with empirical values. The density dependence of this optical potential compares well with earlier calculations.     

The minimax technique in relativistic Hartree-Fock calculations

The online version of the original article can be found at     

The minimax technique in relativistic Hartree-Fock calculations

Using the set of trial spinors and the Dirac-Coulomb Hamiltonian (H _DC) we discuss the role of the minimax theorem in relativistic Hartree-Fock calculations. In principle, the minimax theorem guarantees the occurrence of an upper bound. We also consider a scaling of the functionsu _i and discuss the condition to derive the relativistic hypervirial theorem; the variational procedure represented by the condition serves as an example of the minimax technique. Single zeta calculations onH ₂ ⁺ ,H ₂ and He are analysed. The effect of enlarging the basis is investigated for the He atom. The “upper bound” obtained by usingcoherent basis spinors differs from the result of the (random) linear variation using the kinetically balanced basis set by an amount which is at most of orderc ⁻⁴. Use of thecoherent basis set is advocated. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Isotopic dependence of the nuclear charge radii and binding energies in the relativistic Hartree-Fock formalism

Relativistic nonlinear models based on the Hartree and Hartree-Fock approximations, including the σ, ω, π, and ρ mesons, are worked out to explore the behavior of the nuclear charge radii and the binding energies of several isotopic chains. We find a correlation between the magnitude of the anomalous kink effect (KE) in the Pb isotopic family and the compressibility modulus (K) of nuclear matter. The KE appears to be sensitive, in particular, to the mechanisms which control the K value. The influence of the symmetry energy on the Ca isotopic chain is also studied. The behavior of the charge radii of single-particle states for some special cases and its repercussion on the nuclear charge radius is analyzed. The effect of pairing correlations on the models improves considerably the quality of the results in both binding energy and KE.     

Instability in relativistic mean-field theories of nuclear matter

We investigate the stability of the nuclear matter ground state with respect to small perturbations of the meson fields in relativistic mean-field theories. The popular σ-ω model is shown to have an instability at about twice the nuclear density, which gives rise to a new ground state with periodic spin alignment. Taking into account the contributions of the Dirac sea properly, this instability vanishes. Consequences for relativistic heavy-ion collisions are discussed briefly.     

A relativistic quantum field theory for rotating nuclear matter

The relativistic quantum field theory of Walecka is extended to rotating nuclear systems using a mean-field Thomas-Fermi approximation. Self-bound systems exhibit centrifugal stretching and a maximum angular frequency. Systems constrained to a cylindrical box develop central holes for large angular frequencies.     

Tensor optimized antisymmetrized molecular dynamics for relativistic nuclear matter

We apply a newly developed many-body theory, tensor optimized antisymmetrized molecular dynamics (TOAMD), to nuclear matter using a relativistic bare nucleon-nucleon interaction in the relativistic framework. It becomes evident that the tensor interaction plays an important role in nuclear many-body system due to the role of the pion in a strongly interacting system. We take the relativistic nuclear matter (RNM) wave function as a basic state and add tensor and short-range correlation operators in the form of pion and omega-meson correlation functions acting on the RNM wave function using the concept of TOAMD. We use the Monte Carlo (Metropolis) method based on the Gaussian integration and the second quantization method for antisymmetrization to calculate all the matrix elements of the many-body Hamiltonian. We write the whole formula of the TOAMD method for numerical calculations of the nuclear binding and saturation properties of nuclear matter using one-boson exchange potential.     

Surface incompressibility of semi-infinite nuclear matter via constrained Hartree-Fock calculations

With a view to calculating the incompressibility \(\ddot \sigma \) of the nuclear surface, we develop a constrained Hartree-Fock treatment of semi-infinite nuclear matter. Our approach leads first to a proof of the “ \(\dot \sigma = 0\) ” theorem of Myers and Swiatecki, and then to a corroboration of a simple expression for \(\ddot \sigma \) , previously obtained in an intuitive way by Stocker. This expression is used to calculate \(\ddot \sigma \) for theS3, SkM and Gogny forces. The results are significantly different from those of a scaled HF calculation, but in very good agreement with the values of \(\ddot \sigma \) that are implied by RPA calculations of the breathing mode in various finite nuclei.