We present a novel nuclear energy density functional method to calculate spectroscopic properties of atomic nuclei. Intrinsic nuclear quadrupole deformations and rotational frequencies are considered simultaneously as the degrees of freedom within a symmetry conserving configuration mixing framework. The present method allows the study of nuclear states with collective and single-particle character. We calculate the fascinating structure of the semimagic ${}^{44}\mathrm{S}$ nucleus as a first application of the method, obtaining an excellent quantitative agreement both with the available experimental data and with state-of-the-art shell model calculations.

• Received 22 July 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.052502