Projection operators in nuclear structure calculations

Abstract

Projection operators are an important tool in nuclear structure theory, because in many circumstances it is useful to construct wave-functions ψ which are not eigenfunctions of some operator Λ, although it is apparent that the physical states must be eigenstates of that operator. Thus one first constructs ψ and then projects from it onto eigenfunctions of Λ. We discuss the cases of angular momentum, isospin, centre of mass energy, particle number and antisymmetry. We describe the integral projection operator, an expansion in shift operators, the product operator of Löwdin and another product operator (the cosine product). Certain methods which appear in the literature are seen to be equivalent to one or the other of these. We consider factors that influence the choice of an appropriate method. Projection occurs frequently in the context of a variational method (such as Hartree-Fock or BCS). We consider the question of projection before or after variation.