Global mass calculations within the covariant density functional theory: progress and challenges

The present study aims at further development of covariant energy density functionals (CEDFs)

towards more accurate description of binding energies across the nuclear chart. Three major

classes of CEDFs are considered in the present study. For the first time, infinite basis corrections

to binding energies in the fermionic and bosonic sectors have been taken into account in the fitting

protocol within the covariant density functional theory. In addition, for the first time total electron binding

energies have been used in the conversion of experimental atomic binding energies into nuclear ones.

These factors have been disregarded in previous generation of covariant energy density functionals but

their neglect leads to substantial global calculation errors for physical quantities of interest. For example,

these errors for binding energies are of the order of 0.8 MeV or higher for the three major classes of

covariant energy density functionals. The connection of the definition of the parameters of CEDFs

via global fits of binding energies with nuclear matter properties generated by these functionals has

been investigated. Our study suggests that density dependent meson exchange functionals offer

better chances to provide a simultaneous global description of binding energies and nuclear matter

properties as compared with other classes of the functionals investigated in the present paper.