Ground state of N=Z doubly closed shell nuclei in correlated basis function theory

The ground state properties of N=Z doubly closed shell nuclei are studied within correlated basis function theory. A truncated version of the Urbana v(14) realistic potential, with spin, isospin, and tensor components, is adopted, together with state-dependent correlations. Fermi hypernetted chain integral equations are used to evaluate the density, distribution function, and ground state energy of O-16 and Ca-40. The nuclear matter single operator chain approximation is extended to finite nuclear systems, to deal with the noncommuting part of the correlation operators. The results favorably compare with variational Monte Carlo estimates,when available, and provide a first substantial check of the accuracy of the cluster summation method for state-dependent corelations. We achieve in finite nuclei a treatment of noncentral interactions and correlations having, at least, the same level of accuracy as in nuclear matter. This opens the way for a microscopic study of the medium heavy nuclei ground state using present day realistic Hamiltonians. [S0556-2813(98)00104-6].