GROUND-STATE OF N=Z DOUBLY CLOSED-SHELL NUCLEI IN CORRELATED BASIS FUNCTION-THEORY

The ground state properties of N=Z doubly closed shell nuclei are stud ied within correlated basis function theory. A truncated version of th e Urbana v(14) realistic potential, with spin, isospin, and tensor com ponents, is adopted, together with state-dependent correlations. Fermi hypernetted chain integral equations are used to evaluate the density , distribution function, and ground state energy of O-16 and Ca-40. Th e nuclear matter single operator chain approximation is extended to fi nite nuclear systems, to deal with the noncommuting part of the correl ation operators. The results favorably compare with variational Monte Carlo estimates,when available, and provide a first substantial check of the accuracy of the cluster summation method for state-dependent co relations. We achieve in finite nuclei a treatment of noncentral inter actions and correlations having, at least, the same level of accuracy as in nuclear matter. This opens the way for a microscopic study of th e medium heavy nuclei ground state using present day realistic Hamilto nians. [S0556-2813(98)00104-6].