Coupled-Cluster and Configuration-Interaction Calculations for Heavy Nuclei

We compare coupled-cluster (CC) and configuration-interaction (CI) results for ${}^{56}\mathrm{Ni}$ obtained in the $pf$-shell basis, focusing on practical CC approximations that can be applied to systems with dozens or hundreds of correlated fermions. The weight of the reference state and the strength of correlation effects are controlled by the gap between the $f_{7/2}$ orbit and the $f_{5/2}$, $p_{3/2}$, $p_{1/2}$ orbits. Independent of the gap, the CC method with 1p-1h and 2p-2h clusters and a noniterative treatment of 3p-3h clusters is as accurate as the more demanding CI approach truncated at the 4p-4h level.

Figure 1

(a) The full CI, CISDTQ, and CR-CC(2,3) energies of ${}^{56}\mathrm{Ni}$ as functions of the shell-gap shift $\Delta G$. (b) Comparison of full CI energies with the trends expected for the 1p-1h, 4p-4h, and 8p-8h configurations as functions of $\Delta G$.