Symplectic ab initio no-core shell model

The present study confirms the significance of the symplectic Sp(3,R) symmetry in nuclear dynamics as unveiled, for the first time, by examinations of realistic nucleon-nucleon interactions as well as of eigenstates calculated in the framework of the ab initio No-Core Shell Model (NCSM). The results reveal that the NCSM wave functions for light nuclei highly overlap (at the ∼ 90% level) with only a few of the most deformed Sp(3,R)-symmetric basis states. This points to the possibility of achieving convergence of higher-lying collective modes and reaching heavier nuclei by expanding the NCSM basis space beyond its current limits through Sp(3,R) basis states. Furthermore the symplectic symmetry is found to be favored by the JISP 16 and CD-Bonn realistic nucleon-nucleon interactions, which points to a more fundamental origin of the symplectic symmetry. (Author)