Effect of temperature on the effective mass and the neutron skin of nuclei

Abstract

We study the finite temperature Hartree-Fock-BCS approximation for selected stable Sn nuclei with zero-range Skyrme forces. Hartree Fock BCS approximation allows for a straightforward interpretation of the results since it involves u and v 's which are not matrices as in HFB. Pairing transitions from superfluid to the normal state are studied with respect to the temperature. The temperature dependence of the nuclear radii and neutron skin are also analyzed. An increase of proton and neutron radii is obtained in neutron-rich nuclei, especially above the critical temperature. Using different Skyrme energy functionals, it is found that the correlation between the effective mass in symmetric nuclear matter and the critical temperature depends on the pairing prescription. The temperature dependence of the nucleon effective mass is also investigated, showing that proton and neutron effective masses display different behavior below and above the critical temperature, due to the small temperature dependence of the density.