Exploring the latest quark-meson coupling model for finite nuclei

Abstract

The quark-meson coupling (QMC) model describes atomic nuclei on the basis of the quark structure of nucleons and their self-consistent change as they interact with each other in the nuclear medium. The model has been successfully applied to even-even nuclei across the entire nuclear chart and results were comparable to other existing models despite having fewer adjustable parameters. Nuclear matter properties derived from the model are also within the widely used range of values. In this paper, we explore the latest version of the model, QMCπ-II. We put some emphasis on QMC predictions for neutron skin thickness which will be the subject for experiments in the near future. QMCπ-II predicts a value of around 0.15 and 0.16 fm for 48Ca and 208Pb, respectively, with the slope of symmetry energy at around 40 MeV.