Miriam Davies
Academic and research departments
Theoretical Nuclear Physics Group, School of Mathematics and Physics.About
My research project
Investigation of nuclear structure using nuclear energy density functional theory.Nuclear energy density functional (NEDF) theory maps the nuclear many-body problem onto a one-body problem that depends on the ground state densities and currents of the nucleons. The NEDF theory is implemented in terms of self-consistent mean-field approaches, and can provide accurate descriptions of nuclei – ranging from light to superheavy – with comparably low computational cost.
To investigate open-shell nuclei, NEDF theory is extended to account for pairing correlations which led to the formulation of the relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov model, and I will be using this model to study ground-state properties of nuclei at both zero and finite temperatures.
Traditionally the nucleus is viewed as spherical, but this is not always the case, and I have particular interest in exotic nuclear structures that are often found near to the drip lines. I will extend my investigations to include excited states of deformed nuclei – which give rise to a further plethora of exotic structures and properties – and also how temperature influences these properties.
Supervisors
Nuclear energy density functional (NEDF) theory maps the nuclear many-body problem onto a one-body problem that depends on the ground state densities and currents of the nucleons. The NEDF theory is implemented in terms of self-consistent mean-field approaches, and can provide accurate descriptions of nuclei – ranging from light to superheavy – with comparably low computational cost.
To investigate open-shell nuclei, NEDF theory is extended to account for pairing correlations which led to the formulation of the relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov model, and I will be using this model to study ground-state properties of nuclei at both zero and finite temperatures.
Traditionally the nucleus is viewed as spherical, but this is not always the case, and I have particular interest in exotic nuclear structures that are often found near to the drip lines. I will extend my investigations to include excited states of deformed nuclei – which give rise to a further plethora of exotic structures and properties – and also how temperature influences these properties.