Recent advances in the microscopic calculations of level densities by the shell model Monte Carlo method

The shell model Monte Carlo (SMMC) method enables calculations in model spaces that are many orders of magnitude larger than those that can be treated by conventional methods, and is particularly suitable for the calculation of level densities in the presence of correlations. We review recent advances and applications of SMMC for the microscopic calculation of level densities. Recent developments include (1) a method to calculate accurately the ground-state energy of an odd-mass nucleus, circumventing a sign problem that originates in the projection on an odd number of particles, and (2) a method to calculate directly level densities, which, unlike state densities, do not include the spin degeneracy of the levels. We calculated the level densities of a family of nickel isotopes ^59-64Ni and of a heavy deformed rare-earth nucleus ¹⁶²Dy and found them to be in close agreement with various experimental data sets. (author)