Density matrix renormalization group method and large-scale nuclear shell-model calculations

The particle-hole density matrix renormalization group (p-h DMRG) method is discussed as a possible new approach to large-scale nuclear shell-model calculations. Following a general description of the method, we apply it to a class of problems involving many identical nucleons constrained to move in a single large j-shell and to interact via a pairing plus quadrupole interaction. A single-particle term that splits the shell into degenerate doublets is included so as to accommodate the physics of a Fermi surface in the problem. We apply the p-h DMRG method to this test problem for two j values, one for which the shell model can be solved exactly and one for which the size of the Hamiltonian is much too large for exact treatment. In the former case, the method is able to reproduce the exact results for the ground state energy, the energies of low-lying excited states, and other observables with extreme precision. In the latter case, the results exhibit rapid exponential convergence, suggesting the great promise of this new methodology even for more realistic nuclear systems. We also compare the results of the test calculations with those from Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov approximation and address several other questions about the p-h DMRG method of relevance to its usefulness when treating more realistic nuclear systems.