The shell model Monte Carlo (SMMC) method enables calculations in modelspaces that are many orders of magnitude larger than those that can be treatedby conventional methods, and is particularly suitable for the calculation oflevel densities in the presence of correlations. We review recent advances andapplications of SMMC for the microscopic calculation of level densities. Recentdevelopments include (i) a method to calculate accurately the ground-stateenergy of an odd-mass nucleus, circumventing a sign problem that originates inthe projection on an odd number of particles, and (ii) a method to calculatedirectly level densities, which, unlike state densities, do not include thespin degeneracy of the levels. We calculated the level densities of a family ofnickel isotopes $^{59-64}$Ni and of a heavy deformed rare-earth nucleus$^{162}$Dy and found them to be in close agreement with various experimentaldata sets.
展开▼
