Deformed relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov theory in continuum with a point-coupling functional. II. Examples of odd Nd isotopes

Abstract

Background: One fascinating frontier in nuclear physics is the study of exotic nuclei. The deformed relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov theory in continuum (DRHBc), which simultaneously includes the nuclear superfluidity, deformation, and continuum effects, can provide proper descriptions for both stable and exotic nuclei. In a previous work [Zhang et al., Phys. Rev. C 102, 024314 (2020)], the DRHBc theory based on the point-coupling density functionals was developed and the DRHBc calculation, previously accessible only for light nuclei, was extended for all even-even nuclei in the nuclear chart. The ground-state properties for the even-even nuclei with 8 Z 120 from the DRHBc calculations have been summarized [Zhang et al., At. Data Nucl. Data Tables 144, 101488 (2022)]. Purpose: The aim of this paper is to extend the point-coupling DRHBc theory to odd -A and odd-odd nuclei and examine its applicability by taking odd -A Nd isotopes as examples. Method: In the DRHBc theory, the densities and potentials with axial deformation are expanded in terms of Legendre polynomials, and the relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov equations are solved in a Dirac Woods-Saxon basis to include the continuum effects. For an odd -A or odd-odd nucleus, the blocking effect of the unpaired nucleon(s) is taken into account with the equal filling approximation. To determine its ground state, an automatic blocking procedure is adopted, in which the orbital with the lowest quasiparticle energy is blocked during the iteration. This procedure is justified by comparing with the results from the orbital-fixed blocking calculations, in which the blocked orbital near the Fermi surface is fixed during the iteration. The ground states for both light and heavy nuclei can be provided by the automatic blocking procedure as the orbital-fixed blocking procedure, but with considerably reduced computational cost. Results: The numerical details for even-even nuclei, including the convergence on the energy cutoff, angular momentum cutoff, and Legendre expansion, are found to be valid for odd -A and odd-odd nuclei as well. The ground-state properties of odd -A Nd isotopes are calculated with the density functional PC-PK1. The calculated physical observables, such as binding energies, two-neutron and one-neutron separation energies, and charge radii, are in good agreement with the available experimental data for the whole Nd isotopic chain. Conclusions: The point-coupling DRHBc theory is extended to odd -A and odd-odd nuclei by including the blocking effect. Taking Nd isotopes including both even-even and odd -A ones as examples, the calculated ground-state properties with PC-PK1 are in good agreement with the available experimental data. This paper paves the way to construct the DRHBc mass table including all even-even, odd -A, and odd-odd nuclei in the nuclear chart.