Nuclear binding energies:: Global collective structure and local shell-model correlations

Nuclear binding energies and two-neutron separation energies are analysed starting from the liquid-drop model and the nuclear shell model in order to describe the global trends of the above observables. We subsequently concentrate on the Interacting Boson Model (IBM) and discuss a new method in order to provide a consistent description of both, ground-state and excited-state properties. We address the artefacts that appear when crossing mid-shell using the IBM formulation and perform detailed numerical calculations for nuclei situated in the 50-82 shell. We also concentrate on local deviations from the above global trends in binding energy and two-neutron separation energies that appear in the neutron-deficient Pb region. We address possible effects on the binding energy, caused by mixing of low-lying 0(+) intruder states into the ground state, using configuration mixing in the IBM framework. We also study ground-state properties using a macroscopic-microscopic model. Detailed comparisons with recent experimental data in the Pb region are amply discussed. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.