Symmetry energy at subnuclear densities deduced from nuclear masses

Abstract

We examine how nuclear masses are related to the density dependence of the symmetry energy. Using a macroscopic nuclear model we calculate nuclear masses in a way dependent on the equation of state of asymmetric nuclear matter. We find by comparison with empirical two-proton separation energies that a smaller symmetry energy at subnuclear densities, corresponding to a larger density symmetry coefficient L, is favored. This tendency, which is clearly seen for nuclei that are neutron-rich, nondeformed, and light, can be understood from the property of the surface symmetry energy in a compressible liquid-drop picture.

8 pages, 5 figures; Sec. II expanded

References in corpus (4)

• Neutron skin thickness in droplet model with surface width dependence: indications of softness of the nuclear symmetry energy
• The symmetry energy at subnuclear densities and nuclei in neutron star crusts
• Empirical Proton-Neutron Interactions and Nuclear Density Functional Theory: Global, Regional and Local Comparisons
• X-ray Spectral Identification of Three Candidate Quiescent Low-Mass X-ray Binaries in the Globular Cluster NGC 6304

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Origin of symmetry energy in finite nuclei and density dependence of nuclear matter symmetry energy from measured alpha-decay energies
• Extraction of the symmetry energy coefficients from the masses differences of isobaric nuclei
• Symmetry energy of hot nuclei in the relativistic Thomas-Fermi approximation
• Nuclear masses and the equation of state of nuclear matter
• On variational trial functions in the extended Thomas-Fermi method