Pseudospin symmetry as a relativistic dynamical symmetry in the nucleus

Abstract

Pseudospin symmetry in nuclei is investigated by solving the Dirac equation with Woods-Saxon scalar and vector radial potentials, and studying the correlation of the energy splittings of pseudospin partners with the nuclear potential parameters. The pseudospin interaction is related to a pseudospin-orbit term that arises in a Schroedinger-like equation for the lower component of the Dirac spinor. We show that the contribution from this term to the energy splittings of pseudospin partners is large. The near pseudospin degeneracy results from a significant cancelation among the different terms in that equation, manifesting the dynamical character of this symmetry in the nucleus. We analyze the isospin dependence of the pseudospin symmetry and find that its dynamical character is behind the different pseudospin splittings observed in neutron and proton spectra of nuclei.