Variations in the nuclear mean field, in neutron-rich nuclei, are investigated within the framework of the nuclear shell model. The change is identified to originate mainly from the monopole part of the effective two-body proton-neutron interaction. Applications for the low-lying states in odd-$A$ Cu nuclei are presented. We compare the results using both schematic and realistic forces. We also compare the monopole shifts with the results obtained from large-scale shell-model calculations, using the same realistic interaction, in order to study two-body correlations beyond the proton mean-field variations.

• Received 7 November 2003

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.69.044306