From Light to Hyper-heavy Molecules and Neutron-Star Crusts in a Dynamical Mean-Field Approach

Abstract

The richness of phenomena occurring in heavy-ion collisions calls for microscopic approaches where the motion of each nucleon is treated quantum mechanically. The most popular microscopic approach for low-energy collisions between atomic nuclei is the time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) theory, providing a quantum mean-field dynamics of the system. The TDHF approach and some of its extensions are used to predict the evolution of out-of-equilibrium nuclear systems. The formation of di-nuclear systems with a structure close to molecular states is investigated. In particular, lifetimes and exit channels are described. The formation of light molecules and the dynamics of α-clustering are discussed. Di-nuclear systems formed in transfer, deep-inelastic, and quasi-fission reactions, as well as hyper-heavy molecules produced in reactions between actinides are also investigated. The formation and stability of structures in neutron star crusts are finally discussed.KeywordsCompound NucleusCoulomb BarrierCollision PartnerEnergy Density FunctionalNeutron Star CrustThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.