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

2022; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 13; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1038/s41467-022-29582-0

2041-1723

Takaharu Otsuka, Takashi Abe, T. Yoshida, Y. Tsunoda, Noritaka Shimizu, N. Itagaki, Y. Utsuno, James P. Vary, Pieter Maris, H. Ueno,

Quantum, superfluid, helium dynamics

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.