A new approach for solving the Bethe ansatz (Gaudin-Richardson) equations of the standard pairing problem is established based on the Heine-Stieltjes correspondence. For $k$ pairs of valence nucleons on $n$ different single-particle levels, it is found that solutions of the Bethe ansatz equations can be obtained from one $(k+1)\times (k+1)$ and one $(n-1)\times (k+1)$ matrices, which are associated with the extended Heine-Stieltjes and Van Vleck polynomials, respectively. Since the coefficients in these polynomials are free from divergence with variations in contrast to the original Bethe ansatz equations, the approach provides an efficient and systematic way to solve the problem, which by extension, can also be used to solve a large class of Gaudin-type quantum many-body problems, including an efficient angular momentum projection method for multiparticle systems.

• Received 24 June 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.86.024313