An analytical formula for fluctuations in nuclear charge density

Abstract

The experimental charge densities of atomic nuclei show fluctuations in their distributions. This paper investigates the limits of accuracy of two-parameter Fermi and three-parameter Fermi distributions in describing the charge density. An improved analytical function for density distribution is proposed, which allows for density fluctuation. The experimental charge densities of 40Ca, 60Ni, 100Mo, 152Sm and 208Pb, representing the various shapes of density fluctuation, are used to assess the accuracy of the proposed formula. The proposed function reproduces the experimental charge densities with significant improvement in accuracy over other commonly used formulae. A compilation of charge density distribution parameters of 73 nuclei is presented based on the proposed formula.