Nuclidic mass relationships and mass equations

Generalized nuclidic mass relationships represent a link between mass equations and mass relationships. They are partial difference equations which can be used recursively. The quality of mass predictions, particularly for very neutron-rich or proton-rich nuclei, depends essentially on our knowledge of the effective neutron-proton interaction $I_{np}$. The transverse and longitudinal mass relationships of Garvey and Kelson which are special cases contain small systematic errors due to the assumed independence of $I_{np}$ on the neutron excess or the nucleon number. Information about the dependence of $I_{np}$ on T and A has been extracted from the experimental masses by a variety of χ² tests and was found in partial disagreement with macroscopic and microscopic theories. Several procedure have been devised to test theoretical expressions for $I_{np}$ for their compatibility and consistency with the experimental masses.[NUCLEAR STRUCTURE Derived generalized nuclidic mass relationships with solutions; consistency tests.]