Abstract:
In this thesis, nucleon-nucleon correlations in the nuclear medium are
studied in the framework of the theory of finite temperature Green's
functions.
Due to the strong repulsive core of the nucleons, it is not sufficient
to assume a mean field potential acting between the nucleons, provided
that one intents to describe the nuclear many-body problem using
realistic two-body forces.
Special emphasis is put on the self-consistent calculation of the
particle and hole propagators that determine the motion of the
nucleons in the nuclear medium.
This aspect can be understood by following a single nucleon along its
path: it interacts with other nucleons, which, in turn, can alter the
path of the first nucleon.
By describing each particle in the medium by the same spectral
function, it becomes possible to understand effects that are
experimentally well known, such as the partial occupation of single
particle nuclear orbits in the nuclear ground state. Theoretical
and the experimental results are compared.
The numerical method that was developed for the self-consistent
computation of Green's functions can also be used as a starting point
for nuclear structure calculations of compact astrophysical objects.