8 pages REVTEX, 4 eps figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. CMaking use of the finite rank separable approach for the quasiparticle random phase approximation enables one to perform nuclear structure calculations in very large two-quasiparticle spaces. The approach is extended to take into account the residual particle-particle interaction. The calculations are performed by using Skyrme interactions in the particle-hole channel and density-dependent zero-range interactions in the particle-particle channel. To illustrate our approach, we study the properties of the lowest quadrupole states in the even-even nuclei $^{128}$Pd, $^{130}$Cd, $^{124-134}$Sn, $^{128-136}$Te and $^{136}$Xe

A finite rank separable approximation for the particle-hole RPA calculations with Skyrme interactions is extended to take into account the pairing. As an illustration of the method energies and transition probabilities for the quadrupole and octupole excitations in some O, Ar, Sn and Pb isotopes are calculated. The values obtained within our approach are very close to those that were calculated within QRPA with the full Skyrme interaction. They are in reasonable agreement with experimental data.

The effects of the phonon-phonon coupling on the β-decay rates of neutron-rich nuclei are studied in a microscopic model based on Skyrme-type interactions. The approach uses a finite-rank separable approximation (FRSA) of the Skyrme-type particle-hole (p-h) residual interaction. Very large twoquasiparticle spaces can thus be treated. A redistribution of the Gamow-Teller (G-T) strength is found due to the tensor correlations and the 2p − 2h fragmentation of G-T states. As a result, the β − -decay half-lives are decreased significantly. Using the Skyrme interaction SGII together with a volume-type pairing interaction we illustrate this reduction effect by comparing with available experimental data for the Ni isotopes and neutron-rich N = 50 isotones. We give predictions for 76 Fe and 80 Ni in comparison with the case of the doubly-magic nucleus 78 Ni which is an important waiting point in the r-process.

Starting from an effective Skyrme interaction we present a method to take into account the coupling between one-and two-phonon terms in the wave functions of excited states. The approach is a development of a finite rank separable approximation for the quasiparticle RPA calculations proposed in our previous work. The influence of the phonon-phonon coupling on energies and transition probabilities for the low-lying quadrupole and octupole states in the neutron-rich Sn isotopes is studied.

The low-lying spectra of heavy nuclei are investigated within the quasiparticlephonon model. This microscopic approach goes beyond the quasiparticle random-phase approximation by treating a Hamiltonian of separable form in a microscopic multiphonon basis. It is therefore able to describe the anharmonic features of collective modes as well as the multiphonon states, whose experimental evidence is continuously growing. The method can be put in close correspondence with the proton-neutron interacting boson model. By associating the microscopic isoscalar and isovector quadrupole phonons with proton-neutron symmetric and mixed-symmetry quadrupole bosons, respectively, the microscopic states can be classified, just as in the algebraic model, according to their phonon content and their symmetry. In addition, these states disclose the nuclear properties which are to be ascribed to genuine shell effects, not included in the algebraic approach. Due to its flexibility, the method can be implemented numerically for systematic studies of spectroscopic properties throughout entire regions of vibrational nuclei. The spectra and multipole transition strengths so computed are in overall good agreement with the experimental data. By exploiting the correspondence of the method with the interacting boson model, it is possible to embed the microscopic states into this algebraic frame and, therefore, face the study of nuclei far from shell closures, not directly accessible to merely microscopic approaches. Here, it is shown how this task is accomplished through systematic investigations of magnetic dipole and, especially, electric dipole modes along paths moving from the vibrational to the transitional regions. The method is very well suited to the study of well-deformed nuclei. It provides reliable descriptions of low-lying