Global Trends of Nuclear Radii and Binding Energies from the NUCLEI-PACK Framework

2025/09/17 by H. M. Maridi, Maridi, H. M.
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomical and nuclear sciences #FOS: Physical sciences #Neutrino Physics Research #Nuclear Theory (nucl-th) #Nuclear physics research studies

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2509.13750

openalex publication_date 2025/09/17 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

I present a proof-of-concept study of nuclear radii and binding energies within NUCLEI-PACK, a novel semi-classical framework based on optimized sphere packing of nucleons and clusters. In this approach, proton and neutron positions are determined through a constrained packing algorithm with uniform nucleon radii, followed by global optimization across the nuclear chart (1 ≤ A ≤ 250). From these geometric configurations, I compute charge and matter radii, as well as binding energies. The model successfully reproduces global trends in nuclear size and stability, while maintaining transparency and computational efficiency. A fit of the Coulomb and surface terms of the semi-empirical mass formula shows remarkable agreement with theoretical expectations. These results establish the feasibility of NUCLEI-PACK as a systematic tool for describing nuclear bulk properties across the chart of nuclides.

Citations

• Random close packing of binary hard spheres favors the stability of neutron-rich atomic nuclei
• Sizes of the Nucleon
• Serial Symmetrical Relocation Algorithm for the Equal Sphere Packing Problem

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