A MASS PARAMETER FOR NUCLEAR COLLECTIVE MOTION FROM THE GENERATOR COORDINATE METHOD

Abstract

We calculate a mass parameter for nuclear collective motion within the framework of the Generator Coordinate Method. Two alternative phase space normalization schemes are presented, and a simple expression for the collective mass is obtained within the Gaussian Overlap Approximation. As an application, we calculate the mass parameter associated with β vibrations. A systematic study carried out in the mass range 12≤A≤100 shows pronounced shell effects. Our results in the spherical limit are shown to exceed the well known inertia for quadrapole oscillations in an irrotational fluid by a factor 2–3. It is argued that the application of this method to other problems in nuclear structure and reactions should be straightforward.