Nuclear Theory·nucl-th

Thursday·May 21, 2026

7 papers—3 primary·4 cross-listed

01
Configuration-interaction time-dependent density functional theory for nuclear dynamics
Y. P. Wang · B. Li · D. Vretenar · T. Nikšić · P. W. Zhao · J. Meng
A configuration-interaction time-dependent density functional theory (CI-TDDFT) for nuclear dynamics is developed. In this framework, the correlated nuclear many-body wave function is expanded in terms of time-dependent many-particle configurations built from a common set of orthonormal single-particle states. The equations of motion for both the expansion coefficients and the single-particle states are derived self-consistently using the Dirac-Frenkel time-dependent variational principle. This formulation extends conventional time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) by incorporating configuration mixing and beyond-mean-field correlations, while preserving energy and particle-number conservation. As an illustrative application, the method is implemented using the relativistic point-coupling functional PC-PK1 in the particle-hole channel and a monopole pairing interaction in the particle-particle channel, and is applied to the study of isoscalar giant monopole resonance in $^{58}$ Ni and $^{60}$ Ni. Numerical tests show that both the total energy and particle number are conserved, with relative deviations within $4 \times 1 0^{- 4}$ during the time evolution. Compared with conventional TDDFT, CI-TDDFT yields broader strength distributions for giant monopole resonances while keeping the main peak positions close to those from TDDFT. This broadening is associated with configuration mixing in the valence space and suggests a coupling of the monopole oscillation to additional collective degrees of freedom. These results demonstrate the potential of CI-TDDFT as a quantum, microscopic beyond-mean-field framework for nuclear dynamics.
nucl-thnucl-ex0 citations
02
The quenching of the axial-vector coupling constant $g_{A}$ in $β$ -decay: joint effects from chiral two-body currents and many-body correlations
Bin-Lei Wang · Wan-Li Lv · Li-Gang Cao · Yi-Fei Niu · Gianluca Colo · Hiroyuki Sagawa · Feng-Shou Zhang
In nuclear $β$ -decay calculations, the axial-vector coupling constant $g_{A} \approx 1.27$ usually needs to be quenched phenomenologically by a factor $q \approx$ 0.75 to reproduce {the Gamow-Teller (GT) transition strengths}. We propose a novel approach to quench the GT {strength} of $β$ -decay within the microscopic random phase approximation (RPA) plus particle-vibration coupling (PVC) approach, incorporating the contributions of two-body currents (TBC) derived from chiral effective field theory ( $χ$ EFT). Self-consistent RPA+PVC calculations are performed in three doubly magic nuclei, $^{56}$ Ni, $^{100}$ Sn, and $^{132}$ Sn, with various Skyrme energy density functionals, and the effect of TBC is evaluated by using the obtained many-body wavefunctions. A combined effects of the many-body correlations introduced by PVC and chiral TBC quench the GT strength and reproduce quantitatively experimental data without any additional adjustments. The extracted quenching factors $q$ by the present microscopic model lie in the range $\approx$ 0.73--0.80, which is quite close to the commonly adopted empirical value of $q \approx 0.75$ .
nucl-th0 citations
03
Minimal Wigner- $S U (4)$ Interaction in Microscopic Cluster Models for $α$ -Conjugate Nuclei
Guo-Ping Li · Su-Yu Zhou · Dong Bai · Bo Zhou · Yu-Gang Ma
We present a minimalist, symmetry-guided interaction for microscopic cluster models based on Wigner- $S U (4)$ symmetry. Retaining only an $S U (4)$ -invariant two-body attraction and a local three-body repulsion, this framework is implemented via the generator coordinate method (GCM) to describe $α$ -- $α$ scattering phase shifts, the low-lying spectrum and transition properties of $^{12} C$ , and the cluster spectrum of $^{16} O$ . We show that the long-standing structural tension between the $^{12} C$ and $^{16} O$ ground states can be mitigated within this restricted $S U (4)$ operator space without introducing additional phenomenological complexity. These results indicate that Wigner- $S U (4)$ symmetry provides an effective organizing principle for $N α$ clustering, offering a more fundamental baseline for understanding complex cluster structures.
nucl-th0 citations
04
Quantum Simulation of Gauge Theories for Particle and Nuclear Physics
Zohreh Davoudi🇺🇸
Lattice field theory, along with its algorithmic and hardware ecosystems, has been at the forefront of computational particle and nuclear physics. It continues to deliver impressive results on the hadronic spectrum, structure, decays, and reactions. Yet, this vigorous campaign has fallen short in addressing a range of problems involving dense matter and general dynamical phenomena. The reason is that such problems require an exponential scaling of computing time and space in system size. Quantum simulation, enabled by quantum-computing algorithms and hardware technology, promises a way forward by offering several polynomially efficient algorithms compared with their inefficient classical counterparts. Lattice gauge theorists have engaged in a multi-pronged program to leverage such new possibilities, and have steadily advanced the state of theory, algorithm, and hardware implementations and co-design. In this talk, I motivate the quantum-computational lattice-field-theory program; introduce the questions such a program is expected to address and the strategies it involves; report on recent progress; and end with a note on challenges and opportunities ahead.
↳ hep-lathep-phnucl-thquant-ph3 citations
05
Entangling Power: A Probe of Symmetry and Integrability in Quantum Many-Body Systems
Ian Low🇺🇸 · Pallab Goswami🇺🇸
The entangling power of a unitary operator quantifies its ability to generate entanglement from product states and provides a natural probe of quantum many-body dynamics. Entanglement extremization at points of enhanced symmetry has previously been observed in high-energy scattering. In this work we compute the time-averaged entangling power of anisotropic Heisenberg spin chains across two-site models and finite-size systems, as well as the entangling power of the two-magnon $S$ -matrix in the thermodynamic limit. For two-site models we establish a monotonic hierarchy: the entangling power decreases as the symmetry group grows, reaching its minimum at the $S U (2)$ XXX point. Finite-size XXZ chains exhibit sharp dips at the $S U (2)$ points $Δ = \pm 1$ and the free-fermion point $Δ = 0$ , with the free-fermion dip decaying much more slowly with system size. In the thermodynamic limit, we decompose the two-magnon $S$ -matrix into quantum logic gates -- Identity, SWAP, and $σ_{z} \otimes σ_{z}$ -- and show that the entangling power vanishes for all scattering energies at the $S U (2)$ points, where the $S$ -matrix reduces to the Identity gate, while the free-fermion point achieves the maximum -- the opposite of the finite-size many-body behavior. The entangling power can serve as an {\em operator} diagnostic for symmetry and selected aspects of integrability in quantum simulations of spin-chain dynamics.
↳ quant-phcond-mat.str-elhep-phhep-th+14 citations
06
Superfluid fraction in the crystalline crust of a neutron star: role of quantum zero-point motion of ions
Nicolas Chamel
The suppression of the neutron superfluid fraction in the inner crust of a cold neutron star is mitigated by the quantum zero-point motion of ions about their equilibrium position. In turn, the crustal dynamics is altered by the presence of the neutron superfluid. These effects are studied self-consistently to assess the validity of the usual assumption of a perfect rigid lattice. To this end, fully three-dimensional band-structure calculations of the superfluid fraction are carried out in the weak-coupling approximation, considering body- and face-centered cubic lattices. In both cases, the superfluid fraction is still found to be strongly suppressed in the intermediate region of the inner crust. In turn, the effective mass of the ions is dramatically increased, thus further damping the ion fluctuations. These results are of relevance for the rotational and thermal evolutions of neutron stars.
↳ astro-ph.HEnucl-thPRC(2025)·4 citations
07
Causal UV completions of relativistic hydrodynamics
Robbe Brants🇧🇪
Relativistic hydrodynamics successfully provides an effective field theory description for the low energy regime of many out-of-equilibrium systems. On the other hand, in this paper we prove that any stand-alone hydrodynamic EFT is inherently acausal and therefore requires the addition of transient UV modes in order to restore causality. This is made possible by the exponential decay of dissipative hydrodynamics in a majority of the lightcone, allowing the possibility of a causal description that still reduces to the hydrodynamic one at late timescales. We then investigate the emergence and possible restrictions of the non-hydrodynamic modes in these causal UV completions.
↳ hep-thhep-phmath-phmath.MP+12 citations

Affiliations

first authorsco-authorsvia INSPIRE

Configuration-interaction time-dependent density functional theory for nuclear dynamics

The quenching of the axial-vector coupling constant gA​ in β-decay: joint effects from chiral two-body currents and many-body correlations

Minimal Wigner-SU(4) Interaction in Microscopic Cluster Models for α-Conjugate Nuclei

Quantum Simulation of Gauge Theories for Particle and Nuclear Physics

Entangling Power: A Probe of Symmetry and Integrability in Quantum Many-Body Systems

Superfluid fraction in the crystalline crust of a neutron star: role of quantum zero-point motion of ions

Causal UV completions of relativistic hydrodynamics

Affiliations

The quenching of the axial-vector coupling constant $g_{A}$ in $β$ -decay: joint effects from chiral two-body currents and many-body correlations

Minimal Wigner- $S U (4)$ Interaction in Microscopic Cluster Models for $α$ -Conjugate Nuclei