Ab Initio Nuclear Reaction Theory with Applications to Astrophysics

Abstract

An introduction to ab initio nuclear theory with a focus on nuclear reactions is presented. After a high-level overview of ab initio approaches in nuclear physics, a more detailed description is given of the no-core shell model technique equivalent to a large extent to configuration-interaction methods applied in quantum chemistry. The no-core shell model with continuum approach that provides a quantum many-body description of nuclear reactions is then introduced. After a brief review of nuclear reactions important for astrophysics, examples of results of ab initio calculations of radiative capture and transfer reactions in light nuclei are presented.