Effective interaction calculations of energy levels and wave functions in the nuclear 1p shell

Abstract

The effective interaction method is applied to the lp shell in intermediate coupling in nuclei from He 5 to O 16. No assumption is made on the form of the forces or the potential well. We arrive at a fixed set of two-body matrix elements of the effective interaction which reproduces all total (binding) energies of low-lying energy levels for 8 ≦ A ≦ 16. We also obtain the wave functions of the levels considered. The agreement with experiment in the present work is in many instances an improvement upon the work of Kurath. This shows that the postulation of a specific form of the interaction is a rather severe restriction. Since absolute energy values are obtained in the present method, it is possible to make predictions on the stability of nuclei so far undetected. Finally, the situation regarding nuclei with A < 8 is discussed.