Zero-point energy corrections in self-consistent calculations with density-dependent forces

Zero-point energy (ZPE) corrections appear naturally in the Gaussian-overlap approximation to the generator-coordinate method, and play a critical role in microscopic calculations of fission. These corrections are obtained through different prescriptions in the literature, and in a seminal paper by Girod and Grammaticos [1], a useful relationship was derived between ZPE corrections calculated with matrix elements of the angular-momentum operator and those of the multipole-moment operator. The derivation assumed a linearly-constrained Hamiltonian, and neglected re-arrangement terms arising from the density dependence of the effective interaction. Both methods of calculating ZPE corrections are commonly used in the literature, but the multipole-moment formalism provides a convenient framework for treating vibrational and rotational ZPE corrections on the same footing. In this talk, the results in [1] are generalized to the case of density-dependent interactions and quadratic constraints. The two methods of extracting ZPE corrections will be compared as a function of deformation for realistic calculations in heavy nuclei.\par \noindent [1] M. Girod and B. Grammaticos, Nucl. Phys. A330, 40 (1979).