Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

We outline two complementary approaches based on the no core shell model (NCSM) and present recent results. In the ab initio approach, nuclear properties are evaluated with two-nucleon (NN) and three-nucleon interactions (TNI) derived within effective field theory (EFT) based on chiral perturbation theory (ChPT). Fitting two available parameters of the TNI generates good descriptions of light nuclei. In a second effort, an ab exitu approach, results are obtained with a realistic NN interaction derived by inverse scattering theory with off-shell properties tuned to fit light nuclei. Both approaches produce good results for observables sensitive to spin-orbit properties.

We discuss the motivation, theory, and formulation of the ab initio No-Core Shell Model (NCSM). In this method the effective Hamiltonians are derived microscopically from realistic nucleon-nucleon (NN) and theoretical three-nucleon (NNN) potentials, as a function of the finite harmonic-oscillator (HO) basis space. We present converged results for the A = 3 and 4 nucleon systems, which are in agreement with results obtained by other exact methods, followed by results for p-shell nuclei. Binding energies, rms radii, excitation spectra, and electromagnetic properties are discussed. The favorable comparison with available data is a consequence of the underlying NN and NNN interactions rather than a phenomenological fit.

Extensions to the No-Core Shell Model presents three extensions to the No-Core Shell Model (NCSM) that allow for calculations of heavier nuclei, specifically for the p-shell nuclei. The Importance-Truncated NCSM (IT-NCSM) formulated on arguments of multi-configurational perturbation theory selects a small set of basis states from the initially large basis space in which the Hamiltonian is diagonalized. Previous IT-NCSM calculations have proven reliable, however, there has been no thorough investigation of the inherent error in the truncated IT-NCSM calculations. This thesis provides a detailed study of IT-NCSM calculations and compares them to full NCSM calculations to judge the accuracy of IT-NCSM in heavier nuclei. When IT-NCSM calculations are performed, one often needs to extrapolate the ground-state energy from the finite basis (or model) spaces to the full NCSM model space. In this thesis a careful investigation of the extrapolation procedures was performed. On a related note, extrapolations in the NCSM are commonplace, but up to recently did not have the ultraviolet (UV) or infrared (IR) physics under control. This work additionally presents a method that maps the NCSM parameters into an effective-field theory inspired framework, in which the UV and IR physics are treated appropriately. The NCSM is well-suited to describe bound-state properties of nuclei, but is not well-adapted to describe loosely bound systems, such as the exotic nuclei near the neutron drip line. With the inclusion of the Resonating Group Method (RGM), the NCSM / RGM can provide a first-principles description of exotic nuclei and the first extension of the NCSM.

There has been a significant progress in ab initio approaches to the structure of light nuclei. Starting from realistic two- and three-nucleon interactions the ab initio no-core shell model (NCSM) can predict low-lying levels in p-shell nuclei. It is a challenging task to extend ab initio methods to describe nuclear reactions. In this contribution, we present a brief overview of the NCSM with examples of recent applications as well as the first steps taken toward nuclear reaction applications. In particular, we discuss cross section calculations of p+[sup 6]Li and [sup 6]He+p scattering as well as a calculation of the astrophysically important [sup 7]Be(p, [gamma])[sup 8]B S-factor.