Quantum Monte Carlo applications to atomic nuclei and neutron matter
Dr. Alessandro Lovato
Argonne National Laboratory
Understanding how the structure and dynamics of nuclei and infinite nuclear matter emerge from the individual interactions between neutrons and protons is a long-standing goal of nuclear theory. The non-perturbative nature and strong spin-isospin dependence of nuclear interactions make solving the many-body Schrödinger equation a highly non-trivial task. Quantum Monte Carlo methods use stochastic techniques to overcome these difficulties and accurately model short- and long-range nuclear dynamics. In this talk, I will present our recent calculations of the electroweak responses and matrix elements relevant to neutrino-less double-beta decay searches. I will then discuss the equation of state of infinite neutron matter, as obtained from local, chiral interactions that explicitly account for the excitation of the Delta resonance. Finally, I will provide some prospects on using artificial neural networks to compactly represent the wave functions of atomic nuclei and translational-invariant systems.
Hosted by Prof. Caprio
Presented both in-person and via zoom. Please email nsladmin@nd.edu for zoom link.