Latest development of the combinatorial model of nuclear level densities

The combinatorial model of nuclear level densities has now reached a level of accuracy comparable to that of the best global analytical expressions. We have recently improved the treatment using simultaneously the single particle levels and collective properties predicted by the newly derived D1M Gogny interaction. In addition for deformed nuclei, the transition to sphericity is coherently taken into account on the basis of a temperature-dependent Hartree-Fock calculation which provides at each temperature the structure properties needed to build the level densities. This new method is described and shown to give good results with respect to available experimental data. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.SCOPUS: cp.p