Cranked relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov theory:: formalism and application to the superdeformed bands in the A ∼ 190 region

Cranked relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov theory without and with approximate particle number projection by means of the Lipkin-Nogami method is presented in detail as an extension of relativistic mean field theory with pairing correlations to the rotating frame. Pairing correlations are taken into account by a finite range two-body force of Gogny type. The applicability of this theory to the description of rotating nuclei is studied in detail on the example of superdeformed bands in even-even nuclei of the A similar to 190 mass region. Different aspects such as the importance of pairing and particle number projection, the dependence of the results on the parametrization of the RMF Lagrangian and Gogny force, etc,, are investigated in detail. It is shown that without any adjustment of new parameters the best description of experimental data is obtained by using the well established parameter sets NL1 for the Lagrangian and D1S for the pairing force, Contrary to previous studies at spin zero it is found that the increase of the strength of the Gogny force is not necessary in the framework of relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov theory provided that particle number projection is performed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.