Münster 2002 – scientific programme

Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Downloads | Help

HK: Physik der Hadronen und Kerne

HK 22: Plenary Session

HK 22.3: Plenary Talk

Wednesday, March 13, 2002, 09:30–10:00, Plenarsaal

The Quantum Monte Carlo approach to nuclear structure. — •Stefan Rombouts — Universiteit Gent, Subatomaire en Stralingsfysica, Proeftuinstraat 86, B-9000 Gent, Belgium

For more than half a century already, the nuclear shell model has given us a great insight in many features of the structure of atomic nuclei.M icroscopic calculations in this model are limited however by the high dimensionality of the model space, needed for a realistic description of many nuclei. Truncation methods such as Lanczos-iteration have been applied with great succes in the sd- and pf-shell. For heavier nuclei we still lack an accurate method to solve the Schroedinger equation. A way to achieve this is offered by the Shell-Model Monte Carlo method: instead of solving for the wave function, this method aims at a statistical evaluation of the partition function. This allows an exact numerical calculation of thermodynamical and ground state properties, up to a controllable statistical error. Some recent developments to deal with sign-oscillations and symmetry projections will be highlighted. They promise to extend widely the applicability of the method. Pairing correlations and pairing phase transitions of nuclei in the Iron region are presented as a case study.