Influence of pairing correlations on the radius of neutron-rich nuclei

Abstract

The influence of pairing correlations on the neutron root mean square (rms) radius of nuclei is investigated in the framework of self-consistent Skyrme Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov calculations. The continuum is treated appropriately by the Green's function techniques. As an example the nucleus $^{124}$Zr is treated for a varying strength of pairing correlations. We find that, as the pairing strength increases, the neutron rms radius first shrinks, reaches a minimum and beyond this point it expands again. The shrinkage is due to the the so-called `pairing anti-halo effect', i. e. due to the decreasing of the asymptotic density distribution with increasing pairing. However, in some cases, increasing pairing correlations can also lead to an expansion of the nucleus due to a growing occupation of so-called `halo' orbits, i.e. weakly bound states and resonances in the continuum with low-$\ell $ values. In this case, the neutron radii are extended just by the influence of pairing correlations, since these `halo' orbits cannot be occupied without pairing. The term `anti-halo effect' is not justified in such cases. For a full understanding of this complicated interplay self-consistent calculations are necessary.