Patrick James Fasano

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Postdoctoral Associate at Argonne National Laboratory

Structural phenomena in nuclei, from shell structure and clustering to superfluidity and collective rotations and vibrations, reflect emergent degrees of freedom. Ab initio theory describes nuclei directly from a fully microscopic formulation. We can therefore look to ab initio theory as a means of exploring the emergence of effective degrees of fr...

The need to enforce fermionic antisymmetry in the nuclear many-body problem commonly requires use of single-particle coordinates, defined relative to some fixed origin. To obtain physical operators which nonetheless act on the nuclear many-body system in a Galilean-invariant fashion, thereby avoiding spurious center-of-mass contributions to observa...

Ab initio nuclear theory provides not only a microscopic framework for quantitative description of the nuclear many-body system, but also a foundation for deeper understanding of emergent collective correlations. A symplectic Sp(3,R)⊃U(3) dynamical symmetry is identified in ab initio predictions, from a no-core configuration interaction approach, a...

This white paper reports on the discussions of the 2018 Facility for Rare Isotope Beams Theory Alliance (FRIB-TA) topical program ‘From bound states to the continuum: Connecting bound state calculations with scattering and reaction theory’. One of the biggest and most important frontiers in nuclear theory today is to construct better and stronger b...

Ab initio no-core configuration interaction (NCCI) calculations for the nuclear many-body problem have traditionally relied upon an antisymmetrized product (Slater determinant) basis built from harmonic oscillator orbitals. The accuracy of such calculations is limited by the finite dimensions which are computationally feasible for the truncated man...

Converged results for E2 observables are notoriously challenging to obtain in ab initio no-core configuration interaction (NCCI) approaches. Matrix elements of the E2 operator are sensitive to the large-distance tails of the nuclear wave function, which converge slowly in an oscillator basis expansion. Similar convergence challenges beset ab initio...

The large reported E2 strength between the 2+ ground state and 1+ first excited state of Li8, B(E2;2+→1+)=55(15)e2fm4, presents a puzzle. Unlike in neighboring A=7–9 isotopes, where enhanced E2 strengths may be understood to arise from deformation as rotational in-band transitions, the 2+→1+ transition in Li8 cannot be understood in any simple way...

The calculation of nuclear electromagnetic sum rules by directly diagonalizing the nuclear Hamiltonian in a large basis is numerically challenging and has not been performed for $A>2$ nuclei. With the significant progress of high performance computing, we show that calculating sum rules using numerous discretized continuum states obtained by direct...

Chiral effective field theory (χEFT) provides a framework for obtaining internucleon interactions in a systematically improvable fashion from first principles, while also providing for the derivation of consistent electroweak current operators. In this work, we apply consistently derived interactions and currents towards calculating the magnetic di...

Chiral effective field theory ($\chi$EFT) provides a framework for obtaining internucleon interactions in a systematically improvable fashion from first principles, while also providing for the derivation of consistent electroweak current operators. In this work, we apply consistently derived interactions and currents towards calculating the magnet...

This white paper was submitted to the 2022 Fundamental Symmetries, Neutrons, and Neutrinos (FSNN) Town Hall Meeting in preparation for the next NSAC Long Range Plan. We advocate to support current and future theoretical and experimental searches for physics beyond the Standard Model using nuclear $\beta$ decay.

A new precision half-life measurement of N13 has been conducted using the TwinSol β-counting station at the University of Notre Dame. The measured value of t1/2new=597.05(19)s differs from the previous world value by about 2.8σ. An evaluation of the N13 half-life results in a t1/2world=597.19(22)s. Updated standard model predictions for the Fermi t...

For electric quadrupole (E2) observables, which depend on the large-distance tails of the nuclear wave function, ab initio no-core configuration interaction calculations converge slowly, making meaningful predictions challenging to obtain. Nonetheless, the calculated values for different E2 matrix elements, particularly those involving levels with...

Meaningful predictions for electric quadrupole (E2) observables from ab initio nuclear theory are necessary, if the ab initio description of collective correlations is to be confronted with experiment, as well as to provide predictive power for unknown E2 observables. However, converged results for E2 observables are notoriously challenging to obta...

Meaningful predictions for electric quadrupole (E2) observables from ab initio nuclear theory are necessary, if the ab initio description of collective correlations is to be confronted with experiment, as well as to provide predictive power for unknown E2 observables. However, converged results for E2 observables are notoriously challenging to obta...

For electric quadrupole ($E2$) observables, which depend on the large-distance tails of the nuclear wave function, ab initio no-core configuration interaction (NCCI) calculations converge slowly, making meaningful predictions challenging to obtain. Nonetheless, the calculated values for different $E2$ matrix elements, particularly those involving l...

Many-Fermion Dynamics—nuclear, or MFDn, is a configuration interaction (CI) code for nuclear structure calculations. It is a platform-independent Fortran 90 code using a hybrid MPI+X programming model. For CPU platforms the application has a robust and optimized OpenMP implementation for shared memory parallelism. As part of the NESAP application r...

Ab initio no-core configuration interaction (NCCI) calculations for the nuclear many-body problem have traditionally relied upon an antisymmetrized product (Slater determinant) basis built from harmonic oscillator orbitals. The accuracy of such calculations is limited by the finite dimensions which are computationally feasible for the truncated man...

Within the low-lying spectrum of 10Be, multiple rotational bands are found, with strikingly different moments of inertia. A proposed interpretation has been that these bands variously represent triaxial rotation and prolate axially-deformed rotation. The bands are well-reproduced in ab initio no-core configuration interaction (NCCI) calculations. W...

Many-Fermion Dynamics-nuclear, or MFDn, is a configuration interaction (CI) code for nuclear structure calculations. It is a platform-independent Fortran 90 code using a hybrid MPI+X programming model. For CPU platforms the application has a robust and optimized OpenMP implementation for shared memory parallelism. As part of the NESAP application r...

Electric quadrupole (E2) matrix elements provide a measure of nuclear deformation and related collective structure. Ground-state quadrupole moments in particular are known to high precision in many p-shell nuclei. While the experimental electric quadrupole moment only measures the proton distribution, both proton and neutron quadrupole moments are...

Electromagnetic observables are able to give insight into collective and emergent features in nuclei, including nuclear clustering. These observables also provide strong constraints for ab initio theory, but comparison of these observables between theory and experiment can be difficult due to the lack of convergence for relevant calculated values,...

The large reported $E2$ strength between the $2^+$ ground state and $1^+$ first excited state of $^8$Li, $B(E2; 2^+ \rightarrow 1^+)= 55(15)$ e$^2$fm$^4$, presents a puzzle. Unlike in neighboring $A=7-9$ isotopes, where enhanced $E2$ strengths may be understood to arise from deformation as rotational in-band transitions, the $2^+\rightarrow1^+$ tra...

Electric quadrupole (E2) matrix elements provide a measure of nuclear deformation and related collective structure. Ground-state quadrupole moments in particular are known to high precision in many p-shell nuclei. While the experimental electric quadrupole moment only measures the proton distribution, both proton and neutron quadrupole moments are...

Rotational bands are commonplace in the spectra of atomic nuclei. Inspired by early descriptions of these bands by quadrupole deformations of a liquid drop, Elliott constructed discrete nucleon representations of SU(3) from fermionic creation and annihilation operators. Ever since, Elliott’s model has been foundational to descriptions of rotation i...

Rotational bands are commonplace in the spectra of atomic nuclei. Inspired by early descriptions of these bands by quadrupole deformations of a liquid drop, Elliott constructed a discrete nucleon representations of $\mathrm{SU}(3)$ from fermionic creation and annihilation operators. Ever since, Elliott's model has been foundational to descriptions...

Ab initio nuclear theory provides not only a microscopic framework for quantitative description of the nuclear many-body system, but also a foundation for deeper understanding of emergent collective correlations. A symplectic Sp(3,R)$\supset$U(3) dynamical symmetry is identified in ab initio predictions, from a no-core configuration interaction app...

The need to enforce fermionic antisymmetry in the nuclear many-body problem commonly requires use of single-particle coordinates, defined relative to some fixed origin. To obtain physical operators which nonetheless act on the nuclear many-body system in a Galilean-invariant fashion, thereby avoiding spurious center-of-mass contributions to observa...

Ab initio theory describes nuclei from a fully microscopic formulation, with no presupposition of collective degrees of freedom, yet signatures of clustering and rotation nonetheless arise. We can therefore look to ab initio theory for an understanding of the nature of these emergent phenomena. To probe the nature of rotation in 10Be, we examine th...

One of the biggest and most important frontiers in nuclear theory today is to construct better and stronger bridges between bound state calculations and calculations in the continuum, in particular scattering and reaction theory, as well as teasing out the influence of the continuum on states near threshhold. This is particular challenging as most...

Structural phenomena in nuclei, from shell structure and clustering to superfluidity and collective rotations and vibrations, reflect emergent degrees of freedom. Ab initio theory describes nuclei directly from a fully microscopic formulation. We can therefore look to ab initio theory as a means of exploring the emergence of effective degrees of fr...

No-core configuration interaction (NCCI) calculations for p-shell nuclei give rise to rotational bands, identified by strong intraband E2 transitions and by rotational patterns for excitation energies, electromagnetic moments, and electromagnetic transitions. However, convergence rates differ significantly for different rotational observables and f...

Electromagnetic observables are able to give insight into collective and emergent features in nuclei, including nuclear clustering. These observables also provide strong constraints for ab initio theory, but comparison of these observables between theory and experiment can be difficult due to the lack of convergence for relevant calculated values,...

Nuclear structure and reaction theory are undergoing a major renaissance with advances in many-body methods, strong interactions with greatly improved links to Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), the advent of high performance computing, and improved computational algorithms. Predictive power, with well-quantified uncertainty, is emerging from non-pertur...

Nuclear structure and reaction theory are undergoing a major renaissance with advances in many-body methods, strong interactions with greatly improved links to Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), the advent of high performance computing, and improved computational algorithms. Predictive power, with well-quantified uncertainty, is emerging from non-pertur...

The plunger technique provides a valuable tool for measuring lifetimes of nuclear excited states in the 1 ps to 1 ns range. The plunger consists of a thin foil target and stopper foil separated by some controllable distance; beam-induced reactions occur in the target and the resulting excited nucleus of interest leaves the target foil and is comple...

The plunger technique provides a valuable tool for measuring lifetimes of excited states in the 1-100 ps range. The plunger consists of a thin foil target and stopper foil separated by some controllable distance; beam-induced reactions occur in the target and the resulting nucleus of interest leaves the target foil and is completely stopped by the...