Statistical description of a paired nucleus with the inclusion of angular momentum

The effect of angular momentum on an excited paired nucleus has been studied. The BCS Hamiltonian, modified to include the z-projection of angular momentum has been diagonalized and expressed in terms of the quasiparticle occupation numbers. The grand partition function and all the relevant thermodynamical functions as well as the level-density expression have been derived for the general case of an arbitrary set of single-particle levels. Furthermore, the formalism has been applied to the uniform model and, whenever possible, analytical expressions have been derived. In particular the zero-temperature angular momentum dependence of the gap parameter, the critical angular momentum as well as the yrast line have been calculated. The critical temperature as a function of angular momentum, which defines the phase transition between paired and unpaired systems, has been calculated. A new effect called the thermally assisted pairing correlation, involving an increase of pairing with increasing temperature has been predicted. The completeness of the formalism as applied to spherical or deformed nuclei has been discussed.