Sensitivity of the electric dipole polarizability to the neutron skin thickness in [sup 208]Pb

Abstract

The static dipole polarizability, αD, in 208Pb has been recently measured with highresolution via proton inelastic scattering at the Research Center for Nuclear Physics (RCNP) [1]. This observable is thought to be intimately connected with the neutron skin thickness, rskin, of the same nucleus and, more fundamentally, it is believed to be associated with the density dependence of the nuclear symmetry energy. The impact of rskin on αD in 208Pb is investigated and discussed on the basis of a large and representative set of relativistic and non-relativistic nuclear energy density functionals (EDF) [2].