Isospin symmetry breaking in the charge radius difference of mirror nuclei

Isospin symmetry breaking (ISB) effects in the charge radius difference ARch of mirror nuclei are studied using the test example of 48Ca and 48Ni. This choice allows for a transparent study of ISB contributions since pairing and deformation effects, commonly required for the study of mirror nuclei, can be neglected in this specific pair. The connection of ARch with the nuclear equation of state and the effect of ISB on such a relation are discussed according to an energy density functional approach. We find that nuclear ISB effects may shift the estimated value for the symmetry energy slope parameter L by about 6 to 14 MeV while Coulomb corrections can be neglected. ISB effects on the ground-state energy and charge radii in mirror nuclei have been recently predicted by ab initio calculations to be relatively small, pointing to a negligible effect for the extraction of information on the nuclear EoS. These contrasting results call for a dedicated theoretical effort to solve this overarching problem that impacts not only the neutron-skin thickness or the difference in mass and charge radii of mirror nuclei but also other observables such as the isobaric analog state energy.

Automated summary

The effects of isospin symmetry breaking on the charge radius difference of mirror nuclei were studied in this research. The study focused on the examples of 48Ca and 48Ni, where certain effects could be neglected for a transparent analysis. It was found that isospin symmetry breaking effects can significantly impact the estimated value for the symmetry energy slope parameter. However, recent ab initio calculations suggest that the effects on ground-state energy and charge radii might be relatively small.