IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v13y2022i1d10.1038_s41467-022-29582-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

α-Clustering in atomic nuclei from first principles with statistical learning and the Hoyle state character

Author

Listed:
  • T. Otsuka

    (The University of Tokyo
    RIKEN Nishina Center
    Japan Atomic Energy Agency)

  • T. Abe

    (RIKEN Nishina Center
    The University of Tokyo)

  • T. Yoshida

    (The University of Tokyo
    Research Organization for Information Science and Technology)

  • Y. Tsunoda

    (The University of Tokyo)

  • N. Shimizu

    (The University of Tokyo)

  • N. Itagaki

    (Kyoto University)

  • Y. Utsuno

    (Japan Atomic Energy Agency
    The University of Tokyo)

  • J. Vary

    (Iowa State University)

  • P. Maris

    (Iowa State University)

  • H. Ueno

    (RIKEN Nishina Center)

Abstract

A long-standing crucial question with atomic nuclei is whether or not α clustering occurs there. An α particle (helium-4 nucleus) comprises two protons and two neutrons, and may be the building block of some nuclei. This is a very beautiful and fascinating idea, and is indeed plausible because the α particle is particularly stable with a large binding energy. However, direct experimental evidence has never been provided. Here, we show whether and how α(-like) objects emerge in atomic nuclei, by means of state-of-the-art quantum many-body simulations formulated from first principles, utilizing supercomputers including K/Fugaku. The obtained physical quantities exhibit agreement with experimental data. The appearance and variation of the α clustering are shown by utilizing density profiles for the nuclei beryllium-8, -10 and carbon-12. With additional insight by statistical learning, an unexpected crossover picture is presented for the Hoyle state, a critical gateway to the birth of life.

Suggested Citation

  • T. Otsuka & T. Abe & T. Yoshida & Y. Tsunoda & N. Shimizu & N. Itagaki & Y. Utsuno & J. Vary & P. Maris & H. Ueno, 2022. "α-Clustering in atomic nuclei from first principles with statistical learning and the Hoyle state character," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-022-29582-0
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29582-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-29582-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-022-29582-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Naofumi Tsunoda & Takaharu Otsuka & Kazuo Takayanagi & Noritaka Shimizu & Toshio Suzuki & Yutaka Utsuno & Sota Yoshida & Hideki Ueno, 2020. "The impact of nuclear shape on the emergence of the neutron dripline," Nature, Nature, vol. 587(7832), pages 66-71, November.
    2. Shilun Jin & Luke F. Roberts & Sam M. Austin & Hendrik Schatz, 2020. "Enhanced triple-α reaction reduces proton-rich nucleosynthesis in supernovae," Nature, Nature, vol. 588(7836), pages 57-60, December.
    3. J.-P. Ebran & E. Khan & T. Nikšić & D. Vretenar, 2012. "How atomic nuclei cluster," Nature, Nature, vol. 487(7407), pages 341-344, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ante Ravlić & Esra Yüksel & Tamara Nikšić & Nils Paar, 2023. "Expanding the limits of nuclear stability at finite temperature," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-8, December.
    2. Bo Zhou & Yasuro Funaki & Hisashi Horiuchi & Yu-Gang Ma & Gerd Röpke & Peter Schuck & Akihiro Tohsaki & Taiichi Yamada, 2023. "The 5α condensate state in 20Ne," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-8, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-022-29582-0. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.