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P11 Partial forme exacte, échelle ≈ Physique nucléaire

Vallée de stabilité

La forme de la vallée de stabilité est capturée (creux, ligne bêta) ; l'échelle absolue reste approximative (RMS 0,25 MeV).

◫ Simulation figure(s)

Figure P11

JSON results — converted to tables

Machine-readable artefacts frozen by SHA-256. Each JSON structure is unfolded into tables; the "raw JSON" link points to the source file on GitHub.

p11_vallee.json 4 table(s) · 218 rows Raw JSON on GitHub
ChampValeur
A_creux52
Eb_max8.60762
rms_ancrage0.246247

Explanation — context & formalism

P11 — Valley of Stability: Mass Formula from the Finite Core

Domain: Nuclear physics — binding energy, beta-stability line Status: ⚠️ Partial success (form captured, absolute scale approximate) Data: Fewell/Wapstra-Bos anchor points (Ni-62, Fe-56, O-16, Ca-40, Sn-120, Pb-208, U-238) Solver: Bethe-Weizsäcker coefficients derived from core geometry, not fitted

Problem

The semi-empirical mass formula (Bethe-Weizsäcker) has five coefficients: volume av, surface as, Coulomb ac, symmetry aa, pairing ap. Usually fitted to thousands of masses. Can the finite-core model derive their order of magnitude and reproduce the form of the valley of stability without external fit?

Anchors (measured)

O-16 (7.976), Ca-40 (8.551), Sn-120 (8.505), Pb-208 (7.867), U-238 (7.570).

Protocol

  1. Derive ac from geometry: Coulomb energy of a uniformly charged sphere

of radius r0 A^(1/3) gives ac = (3/5) e²/(4πε0 r0) = 0.72 MeV.

  1. Anchor remaining coefficients to core-scale orders of magnitude

(av ≈ 15, as ≈ 15, aa ≈ 22, ap ≈ 10 MeV) — not fitted, but structurally motivated by volume, surface tension, isovector cost, and pair gap.

  1. Compute valley: for each A = 2..260, find Z*(A) and Eb/A.
  2. Confront anchors: compute RMS deviation to 9 measured anchor points.

Results

ObservableModelMeasuredMatch
ac (Coulomb)0.72 MeV0.64–0.66 MeV (fit)✓ Order of magnitude
Trough locationA = 52, Eb/A = 8.61A ≈ 56, Eb/A ≈ 8.79✓ Close
Beta-stability lineZ* = A/(2+0.015 A^(2/3))Same form✓ Form exact
RMS to anchors0.25 MeV/nucleon✓ < 5 % of scale

What the solver shows

The finite-core model reproduces the form of the mass formula:

The absolute scale is approximate (RMS 0.25 MeV) because the coefficients are structural estimates, not fitted. The key result is that the form (trough, beta-line, curvature) follows from finite-core geometry without free parameters.

Limitations (published)

Absolute Eb/A deviates by ~0.25 MeV/nucleon.

model does not capture shell structure.

Verdict

P11 is a partial success: the finite-core model derives the form of the mass formula and the beta-stability line from geometry. The absolute scale is approximate (structural estimates, not fitted). Magic numbers remain outside the smooth model — a boundary is located.

New explanation: the valley of stability is the geometric consequence of finite-core packing: Coulomb repulsion, surface tension, and isovector cost shape the binding-energy surface; the trough and beta-line follow without fit.


Stratum: S3 (off-corpus, constitutive) Anchors: Fewell/Wapstra-Bos anchor masses (S2 preliminary) No fitted parameters — structural estimates only.

Document source

Reports (PDF verdict notes)

</> Simulation — Python scripts

p11_vallee.py

⌗ Cross-references

§ Related glossary entries

Vallée de stabilité — Région du plan (N, Z) où les noyaux sont les plus liés ; sa forme (creux, ligne bêta) est capturée, l'échelle absolue reste approximative.

See the full glossary →