Scientists / Open questions

Ben R. Mottelson

Nuclear physics; collective nuclear motion

1975 Nobel Prize in Physics

13 questions

Quantifying the role of the $\Delta(1232)$ resonance in the quenching of Gamow–Teller and isovector M1 strength in nuclei
Extending the interacting boson model beyond the s+d truncation: microscopic control of Fermi-surface-sensitive observables in deformed nuclei (the Bohr-Mottelson challenge)
Fragmentation and damping of the low-energy collective modes of a weakly paired trapped atomic Fermi gas: parametric and temperature dependence
Magnitude and sign of the intrinsic electric dipole moment induced by combined quadrupole and octupole deformation in nuclei
Controlled microscopic prediction of the nuclear pairing gap: the effective pairing interaction, finite-nucleus magnitude and its mass-number dependence, and the infinite-matter limit (the unfinished quantitative program of the Bohr–Mottelson–Pines superconductivity analogy)
Quantitative account of continuum contributions to neutron pair correlation at the neutron drip line: resonance-width relation, continuum background, deformation, and the adequacy of HFB for halos
Domain of validity of pair-aligned ( $J=0,2$ -pair) descriptions of nuclear quadrupole deformation: the spherical–deformed phase boundary, the quadrupole pairing strength $G_2$ , and the extension beyond the schematic single- $j$ shell
Validity of the pseudospin classification of normal-parity quasiparticle states in rotating nuclei at high rotational frequency
Controlled convergence of the nuclear field theory (particle-vibration coupling) expansion: validity criteria beyond schematic models and a double-counting-free formulation for realistic nuclear Hamiltonians
Intrinsic low-temperature linewidth of the dipole plasmon in small metal clusters: quantal quadrupole surface fluctuations versus Landau damping and ionic dissipation
Model-dependent boundaries of dark star formation and longevity: neutrinophilic mass thresholds, visible branching fractions, the full MSSM, and capture-driven lifetimes
Microscopic determination of the effective fourth-order rotational terms and the quantitative origin of ΔI=4 staggering in superdeformed nuclear bands
Microscopic origin of ΔI = 4 staggering in superdeformed rotational bands: deriving or excluding the C4v Y44-deformation scenario of Hamamoto and Mottelson

Back to open problems

Quantifying the role of the Δ(1232)\Delta(1232)Δ(1232) resonance in the quenching of Gamow–Teller and isovector M1 strength in nuclei

Extending the interacting boson model beyond the s+d truncation: microscopic control of Fermi-surface-sensitive observables in deformed nuclei (the Bohr-Mottelson challenge)

Fragmentation and damping of the low-energy collective modes of a weakly paired trapped atomic Fermi gas: parametric and temperature dependence

Magnitude and sign of the intrinsic electric dipole moment induced by combined quadrupole and octupole deformation in nuclei

Controlled microscopic prediction of the nuclear pairing gap: the effective pairing interaction, finite-nucleus magnitude and its mass-number dependence, and the infinite-matter limit (the unfinished quantitative program of the Bohr–Mottelson–Pines superconductivity analogy)

Quantitative account of continuum contributions to neutron pair correlation at the neutron drip line: resonance-width relation, continuum background, deformation, and the adequacy of HFB for halos

Domain of validity of pair-aligned (J=0,2J=0,2J=0,2-pair) descriptions of nuclear quadrupole deformation: the spherical–deformed phase boundary, the quadrupole pairing strength G2G_2G2​, and the extension beyond the schematic single-jjj shell

Validity of the pseudospin classification of normal-parity quasiparticle states in rotating nuclei at high rotational frequency

Controlled convergence of the nuclear field theory (particle-vibration coupling) expansion: validity criteria beyond schematic models and a double-counting-free formulation for realistic nuclear Hamiltonians

Intrinsic low-temperature linewidth of the dipole plasmon in small metal clusters: quantal quadrupole surface fluctuations versus Landau damping and ionic dissipation

Model-dependent boundaries of dark star formation and longevity: neutrinophilic mass thresholds, visible branching fractions, the full MSSM, and capture-driven lifetimes

Microscopic determination of the effective fourth-order rotational terms and the quantitative origin of ΔI=4 staggering in superdeformed nuclear bands

Microscopic origin of ΔI = 4 staggering in superdeformed rotational bands: deriving or excluding the C4v Y44-deformation scenario of Hamamoto and Mottelson

Quantifying the role of the $\Delta(1232)$ resonance in the quenching of Gamow–Teller and isovector M1 strength in nuclei

Domain of validity of pair-aligned ( $J=0,2$ -pair) descriptions of nuclear quadrupole deformation: the spherical–deformed phase boundary, the quadrupole pairing strength $G_2$ , and the extension beyond the schematic single- $j$ shell