EFFECTS OF CURRENT CONSERVATION IN CONTINUUM RPA-SK3 PREDICTIONS OF PHOTONUCLEAR REACTIONS AT INTERMEDIATE ENERGIES

The incidence of current conservation in (gamma, p) and (gamma, n) reactions at intermediate energies has been studied in the frame of the self-consistent RPA-SK3 continuum theory, fulfilling current conservation. Two-body exchange currents, originated from the momentum dependent terms of the Skyrme hamiltonian, are expressed in RPA-SK3 through an isovector convection current carrying an effective nucleon mass m(SK)(r) less-than-or-equal-to m. The O-16(gamma, p) and O-16(gamma, n) angular distributions at energies 60 MeV less-than-or-equal-to E-gamma less-than-or-equal-to 300 MeV have been calculated and compared with experimental data. Connection is made with the implications of current conservation in nuclear (e,e') charge responses calculated in the same theoretical framework.