Nuclear clustering over the nuclear chart from a covariant EDF approach

Abstract

Nuclear clustering has been studied with covariant Energy Density Functional approaches for more than a decade. It recently allowed to bridge microscopically the description of cluster states in light nuclei with the one of cluster and alpha decays in heavy ones. The proper use of theoretical tools, such as the density and the nucleonic localization function, allows to shed light on the mechanisms of formation and identification of clusters in nuclei. Finally, a global analysis of nuclear clustering is discussed, in order to identify control parameters for a nuclear cluster phase.