Results for ab initio no-core shell model calculations in a symmetry-adapted SU(3)-based coupling scheme demonstrate that collective modes in light nuclei emerge from first principles. The low-lying states of 6 Li, 8 Be, and 6 He are shown to exhibit orderly patterns that favor spatial configurations with strong quadrupole deformation and complementary low intrinsic spin values, a picture that is consistent with the nuclear symplectic model. The results also suggest a pragmatic path forward to accommodate deformation-driven collective features in ab initio analyses when they dominate the nuclear landscape.Introduction. -Major progress in the development of realistic inter-nucleon interactions along with the utilization of massively parallel computing resources [1][2][3] have placed ab initio approaches [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] at the frontier of nuclear structure explorations. The ultimate goal of ab initio studies is to establish a link between underlying principles of quantum chromodynamics (quark/gluon considerations) and observed properties of atomic nuclei, including their structure and related reactions. The predictive potential that ab initio models hold [15,16] makes them suitable for targeting short-lived nuclei that are inaccessible by experiment but essential to modeling, for example, of the dynamics of X-ray bursts and the path of nucleosynthesis (see, e.g., [17,18]).

In this review, we present a symmetry-guided strategy that utilizes exact as well as partial symmetries for enabling a deeper understanding of and advancing ab initio studies for determining the microscopic structure of atomic nuclei. These symmetries expose physically relevant degrees of freedom that, for large-scale calculations with QCD-inspired interactions, allow the model space size to be reduced through a very structured selection of the basis states to physically relevant subspaces. This can guide explorations of simple patterns in nuclei and how they emerge from first principles, as well as extensions of the theory beyond current limitations toward heavier nuclei and larger model spaces. This is illustrated for the ab initio symmetry-adapted no-core shell model (SA-NCSM) and two significant underlying symmetries, the symplectic Sp(3, R) group and its deformation-related SU(3) subgroup. We review the broad scope of nuclei, where these symmetries have been found to play a key role -from the light p-shell systems, such as 6 Li, 8 B, 8 Be, 12 C, and 16 O, and sd-shell nuclei exemplified by 20 Ne, based on first-principle explorations; through the Hoyle state in 12 C and enhanced collectivity in intermediate-mass nuclei, within a no-core shell-model perspective; up to strongly deformed species of the rare-earth and actinide regions, as investigated in earlier studies. A complementary picture, driven by symmetries dual to Sp(3, R), is also discussed. We briefly review symmetry-guided techniques that prove useful in various nuclear-theory models, such as Elliott model, ab initio SA-NCSM, symplectic model, pseudo-SU(3) and pseudo-symplectic models, ab initio hyperspherical harmonics method, ab initio lattice effective field theory, exact pairing -plusshell model approaches, and cluster models, including the resonating-group method. Important implications of these approaches that have deepened our understanding of emergent phenomena in nuclei, such as enhanced collectivity, giant resonances, pairing, halo, and clustering, are discussed, with a focus on emergent patterns in the framework of the ab initio SA-NCSM with no a priori assumptions.

Clear evidence for symplectic symmetry in low-lying states of 12C and 16O is reported. Eigenstates of 12C and 16O, determined within the framework of the no-core shell model using the J-matrix inverse scattering potential with A

By using only a fraction of the model space extended beyond current no-core shell-model limits and a many-nucleon interaction with a single parameter, we gain additional insight within a symmetryguided shell-model framework, into the many-body dynamics that gives rise to the ground state rotational band together with phenomena tied to alpha-clustering substructures in the low-lying states in 12 C, and in particular, the challenging Hoyle state and its first 2 + and 4 + excitations. For these states, we offer a novel perspective emerging out of no-core shell-model considerations, including a discussion of associated nuclear deformation and matter radii. This, in turn, provides guidance for ab initio shell models by informing key features of nuclear structure and the interaction.