REVIEW article
Front. Phys.
Sec. Nuclear Physics
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphy.2025.1629987
Electric dipole polarizability constraints on neutron skin and symmetry energy
Provisionally accepted
- 1Institute for Nuclear Physics, Darmstadt University of Technology, Darmstadt, Germany
- 2Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
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We review the experimental knowledge on the dipole polarizability (DP) of nuclei and its relation to the neutron skin thickness and properties of the neutron-rich matter equation of state (EOS). The discussion focuses on recent experiments using relativistic Coulomb excitation in inelastic proton scattering at extreme forward angles covering a mass range from 40 Ca to 208 Pb.Constraints on the neutron skins and the density dependence of the symmetry energy are derived from systematic comparison to calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) and ab initio methods utilizing interactions derived from chiral effective field theory (χEFT). The results consistently favor a soft EOS around or slightly below the saturation point. An outlook is given on possible improvements of the precision achievable in stable nuclei and studies of exotic neutron-rich unstable nuclei with upcoming experimental facilities.
Keywords: Dipole polarizability, Neutron skin thickness, symmetry energy, Density Functional Theory, ab initio calculations
Received: 16 May 2025; Accepted: 16 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Von Neumann-Cosel and Tamii. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Peter Von Neumann-Cosel, Institute for Nuclear Physics, Darmstadt University of Technology, Darmstadt, Germany
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