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Description of collective phenomena in atomic nuclei beyond Time-Dependent Density Functional

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Thesis topic details

General information

Organisation

The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) is a key player in research, development and innovation in four main areas :
• defence and security,
• nuclear energy (fission and fusion),
• technological research for industry,
• fundamental research in the physical sciences and life sciences.

Drawing on its widely acknowledged expertise, and thanks to its 16000 technicians, engineers, researchers and staff, the CEA actively participates in collaborative projects with a large number of academic and industrial partners.

The CEA is established in ten centers spread throughout France
  

Reference

SL-DAM-25-0564  

Direction

DAM

Thesis topic details

Category

Theoretical physics

Thesis topics

Description of collective phenomena in atomic nuclei beyond Time-Dependent Density Functional

Contract

Thèse

Job description

Context :
Predicting the organization and dynamics of neutrons and protons within atomic nuclei is a significant
scientific challenge, crucial for designing future nuclear technologies and addressing fundamental questions
such as the origin of heavy atoms in our universe. In this context, CEA, DAM, DIF develops theoretical
approaches to simulate the dynamics of the elementary constituents of atomic nuclei. The equations of
motion, derived within the framework of quantum mechanics, are solved on our supercomputers. The 2010s
saw the rise of the time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) approach for tackling this problem.
While TDDFT has provided groundbreaking insights into phenomena such as giant resonances observed in
atomic nuclei and nuclear fission, this approximation has intrinsic limitations.

Objectives :
This PhD project aims to develop and explore a novel theoretical approach to describe the collective motion
of protons and neutrons within the atomic nucleus. The goal is to generalize the TDDFT framework to
improve the prediction of certain nuclear reaction properties, such as the energy distribution among the
fragments resulting from nuclear fission. Building on initial work in this direction, the PhD candidate will
derive the equations of motion for this new approach and implement them as an optimized C++ library
designed to leverage the computational power of CEA's supercomputers. The final objective will be to assess
how this new framework enhances predictions of phenomena such as the damping of giant resonances in
atomic nuclei and the formation of fragments during nuclear fission.

University / doctoral school

PHENIICS (PHENIICS)
Paris-Saclay

Thesis topic location

Site

DAM Île-de-France

Requester

Position start date

01/10/2025

Person to be contacted by the applicant

Regnier David david.regnier@cea.fr
CEA
DAM/DPTA//DPTA
CEA DAM Ile de France
Bruyères-le-Châtel
91297 Arpajon
FRANCE
01 69 26 40 00

Tutor / Responsible thesis director

PILLET Nathalie nathalie.pillet@cea.fr
CEA
DAM/DPTA//DPTA
CEA/DAM-Ile de France
F-91297 Arpajon, France
01 69 26 40 00

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