Nice things about mean fields: Mean field potentials for the classroom

Abstract

We present two examples which use a mean field potential to determine valence electron and nucleon energy levels in atoms and nuclei, respectively. In atoms, we compute the energy levels of the alkali elements, and in nuclei the binding energy of valence nucleons in mirror nuclei are calculated. In both cases, the student can compare the results with experiment and vary the parameters of the calculation to best fit the data.