Building a universal nuclear energy density functional (UNEDF)

The long-term vision initiated with UNEDF is to arrive at a comprehensive, quantitative, and unified description of nuclei and their reactions, grounded in the fundamental interactions between the constituent nucleons. We seek to replace current phenomenological models of nuclear structure and reactions with a well-founded microscopic theory that delivers maximum predictive power with well-quantified uncertainties. Specifically, the mission of this project has been three-fold: First, to find an optimal energy density functional (EDF) using all our knowledge of the nucleonic Hamiltonian and basic nuclear properties. Second, to apply the EDF theory and its extensions to validate the functional using all the available relevant nuclear structure and reaction data. Third, to apply the validated theory to properties of interest that cannot be measured, in particular the properties needed for reaction theory