Convergence of density-matrix expansions for nuclear interactions

Abstract

We extend density-matrix expansions in nuclei to higher orders in derivatives of densities and test their convergence properties. The expansions allow for converting the interaction energies characteristic to finite- and short-range nuclear effective forces into quasi-local density functionals. We also propose a new type of expansion that has excellent convergence properties when benchmarked against the binding energies obtained for the Gogny interaction.