Accuracy of the mean-field theory in describing ground-state properties of light nuclei

Abstract: The relativistic mean-field model, augmented with three types of center-of-mass corrections and two types of rotational corrections, is employed to investigate the ground-state properties of helium, beryllium, and carbon isotopes. The efficacy of the mean-field approach in describing the binding energies, quadrupole deformations, root-mean-square charge radii, root-mean-square matter radii, and neutron skins of these light nuclei is evaluated. By averaging the binding energies obtained from six selected effective interactions, a mass-dependent behavior of the mean-field approximation is elucidated. The findings from radii reveal that, unlike in heavy nuclei, the exchange terms of the center-of-mass correction play an indispensable role in accurately describing the radii of light nuclei. The mean-field approximation, when augmented with center-of-mass and rotational corrections, effectively reproduces the energies and radii of light nuclei. However, due to the absence of many-body correlations between valence neutrons, the mean-field approximation falls short in describing the deformations and shell evolutions of the helium and beryllium isotopic chains.