Combined Theoretical Analysis of the Parity-Violating Asymmetry for 48 Ca and 208Pb

Abstract

The recent experimental determination of the parity violating asymmetry PV in 48Ca and 208Pb at Jefferson Lab is important for our understanding on how neutrons and protons arrange themselves inside the atomic nucleus. To better understand the impact of these measurements, we present a rigorous theoretical investigation of PV in 48Ca and 208Pb and assess the associated uncertainties. We complement our study by inspecting the static electric dipole polarizability in these nuclei. The analysis is carried out within nuclear energy density functional theory with quantified input. We conclude that the simultaneous accurate description of PV in 48Ca and 208Pb cannot be achieved by our models that accommodate a pool of global nuclear properties, such as masses and charge radii, throughout the nuclear chart, and describe—within one standard deviation—the experimental dipole polarizabilities in these nuclei.