Low densities in nuclear and neutron matters and in the nuclear surface

Nuclear and neutron matters are investigated in the low density region, well below the nuclear saturation density. Microscopic calculations, based on the Bethe-Brueckner approach with a few realistic nucleon-nucleon potentials, are compared with the predictions of a set of phenomenological effective interactions, mostly employed in nuclear structure studies. An energy functional is constructed on the basis of the microscopic bulk EoS and applied to a selection of nuclei throughout the mass table. The results provide a microscopic basis for a link between nuclear surface behaviour and neutron EoS previously observed with phenomenological effective forces. Possible effects of pairing on asymmetric nuclear matter are also analyzed in detail. The results are expected to illuminate the physical mechanisms which determine the behaviour of the surface density tail in exotic nuclei. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.