Green's Function Techniques for Infinite Nuclear Systems

Abstract

I review the application of self-consistent Green's function methods to study the properties of infinite nuclear systems. Improvements over the last decade, including the consistent treatment of three-nucleon forces and the development of extrapolation methods from finite to zero temperature, have allowed for realistic predictions of the equation of state of infinite symmetric, asymmetric and neutron matter based on chiral interactions. Microscopic properties, like momentum distributions or spectral functions, are also accessible. Using an indicative set of results based on a subset of chiral interactions, I summarize here the first-principles description of infinite nuclear systems provided by Green's function techniques, in the context of several issues of relevance for nuclear theory including, but not limited to, the role of short-range correlations in nuclear systems, nuclear phase transitions and the isospin dependence of nuclear observables.