Nuclear Energy Density Functionals Constrained by Low-Energy QCD

Abstract

A microscopic framework of nuclear energy density functionals is reviewed, which establishes a direct relation between low-energy QCD and nuclear structure, synthesizing effective field theory methods and principles of density functional theory. Guided by two closely related features of QCD in the low-energy limit: a) in-medium changes of vacuum condensates, and b) spontaneous breaking of chiral symmetry; a relativistic energy density functional is developed and applied in studies of ground-state properties of spherical and deformed nuclei.

To be published in the Proceedings of the International Les Houches School on "Exotic Nuclei: New Challenges", May 7-18 2007, Les Houches, France, 32 pages, 10 figures