Eur. Phys. J. Plus (2016) 131: 107
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/i2016-16107-6

Review

Structure models: From shell model to ab initio methods

A brief introduction to microscopic theories for exotic nuclei

¹ TRIUMF, V6T 2A3, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
² Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada

^* e-mail: bacca@triumf.ca

Received: 14 November 2015
Accepted: 6 March 2016
Published online: 21 April 2016

Abstract

A brief review of models to describe nuclear structure and reactions properties is presented, starting from the historical shell model picture and encompassing modern ab initio approaches. A selection of recent theoretical results on observables for exotic light and medium-mass nuclei is shown. Emphasis is given to the comparison with experiment and to what can be learned about three-body forces and continuum properties.