Speaker
Description
The total beta-decay half-lives of neutron-rich nuclei along magic neutron numbers remain largely unknown experimentally, while they are critical inputs for r-process simulations. In this talk, I will discuss our ab initio calculations for the half-lives of $N=50$ isotones. Starting from two- and three-nucleon interactions derived from chiral effective-field theory, we solve the many-body Schrödinger equation with valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group, a powerful method to address ground and excited states of closed- and open-shell systems. The Gamow-Teller transitions are calculated with the inclusion of consistent two-body currents, which were recently found to be a key input for explaining the $g_A$ quenching puzzle. In addition, we consider the effects of first-forbidden transitions. Our results agree well with the existing experimental data, validating the predictive power of our approach.
