$α$-cluster structures above double shell closures via double-folding potentials from chiral effective field theory

Abstract

α-cluster structures above double shell closures are among the cornerstones for nuclear α-cluster physics. Semi-microscopic cluster models (SMCMs) are important theoretical models to study their properties. A crucial ingredient of SMCM is the effective potential between the alpha cluster and the doubly magic nucleus. We derive new double-folding potentials between α clusters and doubly magic nuclei from soft local chiral nucleon-nucleon potentials given by chiral effective field theory (χEFT) at the next-to-next-to-leading order. The α-cluster structures in 8 Be, 20 Ne, 44,52 Ti, and 212 Po are explored to validate these new double-folding potentials. The α decay of 104 Te is also studied in the light of recent experimental results. Our study shows that double-folding potentials from χEFT are the new reliable effective potentials for the SMCM approach to α-cluster structures above double shell closures, with both conceptual and phenomenological merits.