Takaharu Otsuka

The monopole effect of the tensor force is presented, exhibiting how spherical single-particle energies are shifted as protons or neutrons occupy certain orbits. An analytic relation for such shifts is shown, and their general features are explained intuitively. Single-particle levels are shown to change in a systematic and robust way, by using the pi + rho meson exchange tensor potential, consistently with the chiral perturbation idea. Several examples are compared with experiments.

The magic numbers in exotic nuclei are discussed, and their novel origin is shown to be the spin-isospin dependent part of the nucleon-nucleon interaction in nuclei. The importance and robustness of this mechanism is shown in terms of meson exchange, G-matrix, and QCD theories. In neutron-rich exotic nuclei, magic numbers such as N = 8, 20, etc. can disappear, while N = 6, 16, etc. arise, affecting the structure of the lightest exotic nuclei to nucleosynthesis of heavy elements.

Novel simple properties of the monopole component of effective nucleon-nucleon interactions are presented, leading to the so-called monopole-based universal interaction. Shell structures are shown to change as functions of N and Z, consistent with experiments. Some key cases of this shell evolution are discussed, clarifying the effects of central and tensor forces. The validity of the present tensor force is examined in terms of the low-momentum interaction V(lowk) and the Q(box) formalism.

The limit of neutron-rich nuclei, the neutron drip line, evolves regularly from light to medium-mass nuclei except for a striking anomaly in the oxygen isotopes. This anomaly is not reproduced in shell-model calculations derived from microscopic two-nucleon forces. Here, we present the first microscopic explanation of the oxygen anomaly based on three-nucleon forces that have been established in few-body systems. This leads to repulsive contributions to the interactions among excess neutrons tha

The next generation of rare-isotope beam facilities will enable access to key regions of the nuclear chart, where the measured properties of short-lived isotopes will challenge our current theoretical picture and help develop a comprehensive model of the atomic nucleus. This article reviews the mechanisms driving the evolution of shell structure in exotic nuclei that impact nuclear physics and nuclear astrophysics research.

The tensor force is implemented into the mean-field model so that the evolution of nuclear shells can be described for exotic nuclei as well as stable ones. Besides the tensor-force part simulating the meson exchange, the model is an extension of the successful Gogny model. One of the major issues of rare-isotope beam physics is a reduced spin-orbit splitting in neutron-rich exotic nuclei. It will be shown that the effect of the tensor force on this splitting is larger than or about equal to the

The closed shell structure at $N\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}Z\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}28$ is studied by a large-scale shell model calculation by the quantum Monte Carlo diagonalization method. Latest crucial improvements of the method are described. The doubly closed shell probability of ${}^{56}\mathrm{Ni}$ is shown to be only $49%$ in a full $\mathrm{pf}$ shell calculation, in contrast to the corresponding probability of ${}^{48}\mathrm{Ca}$ whi

I overview new aspects of the structure of exotic nuclei as compared to stable nuclei, focusing on several characteristic effects of nuclear forces. The shell structure of nuclei has been proposed by Mayer and Jensen, and has been considered to be kept valid basically for all nuclei, with well-known magic numbers, 2, 8, 20, 28, 50, .... Nuclear forces were shown, very recently, to change this paradigm. It will be presented that the evolution of shell structure occurs in various ways as more neut

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