Covariant energy density functionals with and without tensor couplings at the Hartree-Bogoliubov level

Abstract

Background: The study of additional terms in functionals is relevant to better describe nuclear structure phenomenology. Among these terms, the tensor one is known to impact nuclear structure properties, especially in neutron-rich nuclei. However, its effect has not been studied on the whole nuclear chart yet.Purpose: The impact of terms corresponding to the tensor at the Hartree level is studied for infinite nuclear matter as well as deformed nuclei, by developing new density-dependent functionals including these terms. In particular, we study in details the improvement such a term can bring to the description of specific nuclear observables.Methods: The framework of covariant energy density functional is used at the Hartree-Bogoliubov level. The free parameters of covariant functionals are optimized by combining Markov-chain Monte Carlo and simplex algorithms. A sensitivity analysis on these parameters is undertaken.Results: An improvement of the rms binding energies, spin-orbit splittings, and gaps is obtained over the nuclear chart, including axially deformed ones, when including tensors terms. Small modifications of the potential energy surface and densities are also found. In infinite matter, the Dirac mass is shifted to a larger value, in better agreement with experiments.Conclusions: Taking into account additional terms corresponding to the tensor terms in the vector-isoscalar channel at the Hartree level improves the description of nuclear properties, both in nuclei and in nuclear matter.