Unified theory of nuclear rotations

The nuclear Hamiltonian is expressed in terms of the total angular momentum variables, and of intrinsic particle coordinates by means of a contact transformation. The intrinsic structure is approximated by a Hartree-Fock solution, and the Coriolis coupling diagonalized by admitting particle-hole excitations. It is shown that in this approximation, the rotational energy takes the conventional form, as given by the “unified” model, the moment of inertia being determined by a self-consistent “cranking” formula. This, and corresponding results for matrix elements of multipole operators substantiate the validity of the more intuitive procedures based on the unified model and on the use of single particle orbitals in deformed potential wells.