Validating relativistic models of nuclear structure against theoretical, experimental, and observational constraints

Relativistic mean-field models of nuclear structure have been enormously successful at reproducing ground-state properties of finite nuclei throughout the periodic table using a handful of accurately calibrated parameters. In this contribution, we use powerful theoretical, experimental, and observational constraints on the equation of state of asymmetric nuclear matter-not employed in the calibration procedure-to validate two such models: NL3 and FSUGold. It is observed that FSUGold is consistent with all these constraints, except perhaps for a high-density equation of state that appears mildly softer than required by astronomical observations. It is argued that incorporating such constraints goes a long way in removing much of the ambiguity left over from the standard calibrating procedure.