2006/11/30 by K. Hagino, H. Sagawa, J. Carbonell +2 · 6 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Nuclear physics research studies #Quantum, superfluid, helium dynamics #cond-mat.supr-con #nucl-ex #nucl-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.99.022506
published as Phys.Rev.Lett.99:022506,2007 · 4 pages, 3 eps figures. The version to appear in PRL
arxiv created 2007/06/28 · openalex publication_date 2007/07/13 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We investigate the spatial structure of the two-neutron wave function in the Borromean nucleus (11)Li, using a three-body model of (9)Li + n + n, which includes many-body correlations stemming from the Pauli principle. The behavior of the neutron pair at different densities is simulated by calculating the two-neutron wave function at several distances between the core nucleus (9)Li and the center of mass of the two neutrons. With this representation, a strong concentration of the neutron pair on the nuclear surface is for the first time quantitatively established for neutron-rich nuclei. That is, the neutron pair wave function in (11)Li has an oscillatory behavior at normal density, while it becomes a well-localized single peak in the dilute density region around the nuclear surface. We point out that these features qualitatively correspond to the BCS- and BEC-like structures of the pair wave function found in infinite nuclear matter.