Large scale Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (HFB) calculations with the finite-range Gogny force D1S have been performed in order to extract the corresponding theoretical average mass dependence of the nuclear gap values. Good agreement with experimental data from the three-point filter $\Delta^{ (3)}$(N) with N odd has been found for both the neutron and proton gaps. The study confirms earlier findings [W. Satula, J. Dobaczewski, and W. Nazarewicz, Phys. Rev. Lett. 81 3599 (1998)] that the mass dependence of the gap is much weaker than the so far accepted 12/$\sqrtA$ MeV law.
Categories: nucl-th