Ab Initio Nuclear Reaction Theory with Applications to Astrophysics

Abstract

We present an introduction to ab initio nuclear theory with a focus on nuclear reactions. After a high-level overview of ab initio approaches in nuclear physics, we give a more detailed description of the no-core shell model technique equivalent to a large extent to configuration-interaction methods applied in quantum chemistry. We then introduce the no-core shell model with continuum approach that provides a quantum many-body description of nuclear reactions. After a brief review of nuclear reactions important for astrophysics, we present examples of results of ab initio calculations of radiative capture and transfer reactions in light nuclei.

Calculations of the np→dγ reaction in chiral effective field theory

“…* Email:duweigy@gmail.com Indeed, various predictive methods have been developed for precision calculations of the reaction p(n, γ)d based on either the pionless effective field theory [33][34][35][36][37] or the pionful χEFT [19,38] as alternatives to traditional approaches based on phenomenological models for the nuclear interactions and currents [39][40][41]. In view of these successful advances, it becomes important to explore new ab initio approaches to reaction calculations based on the no-core shell model (NCSM) [42][43][44] in addition to those already developed, such as the NCSM/RGM approach combining the NCSM with the resonating group method [45][46][47][48], and the NCSM with continuum [49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57]. There is also the SS-HORSE-NCSM approach [58][59][60][61][62][63] that extends the NCSM for studying resonances.…”