Geometrical Relationships of Macroscopic Nuclear Physics

This book brings together in one place all the formulae and relationships of macroscopic (liquid drop model) nuclear physics. The various parameterizations for nuclear shapes and density distributions that have been developed for discussing nuclear ground state properties and fission and heavy-ion reactions are presented and, when possible, relations between them are given. Expressions are given for such frequently used quantities as surface and Coulomb energies, moments of inertia, etc. The collection is meant to be complete, and extensive cross referencing guarantees that formulae of interest are easily found and related material is presented. This is the first time that the geometrical relationships so frequently employed in fission, heavy-ion, intermediate and high-energy nuclear physics have been brought together in one place and with such thoroughness. Students and instructors as well as experienced research workers in these and related fields will find it to be a frequently consulted reference.

The aim of this book is to provide a single reference source for the wealth of geometrical formulae and relationships that have proven useful in the descrip- tion of atomic nuclei and nuclear processes. While many of the sections may be useful to students and instructors it is not a text book but rather a reference book for experimentalists and theoreticians working in this field. In addition the authors have avoided critical assessment of the material presented except, of course, by variations in emphasis. The whole field of macroscopic (or Liquid Drop Model) nuclear physics has its origins in such early works as Weizsacker 35] and Bohr 39]. It continued to grow because of its success in explaining collective nuclear excitations Bohr 52] and fission (see the series of papers culminating in Cohen 62]). These develop- ments correspond to the first maximum in the histogram below, showing the distribution by year of the articles cited in our Bibliography. After the Liquid Drop Model had been worked out in some detail the development of the Struti- nsky approach Strutinsky 68] (which associates single particle contributions to the binding energy with the shape of the nucleus) gave new life to the field. The growth of interest in heavy-ion reaction studies has also contributed.

Contents: Definitions and Notation.- Characterization of Leptodermous Distributions.- Folded Distributions.- Spherically Symmetric Distributions.- Spheroidal Deformations.- Small Deformations.- Large Deformations.- Saddle Point Properties.- Separated Shapes.- Exotic Shapes.- Medium- and High-Energy Nuclear Collisions.- Bibliography.- Citation Index.- Subject Index.