An empirical study of the Duflo–Zuker mass formula

The Duflo–Zuker microscopic mass formula, in its most extensive formulation, has thirty-three parameters which are determined by fitting to measured nuclear binding energies. The degree to which the data pin down the parameters is investigated, as is the sensitivity of the fit to the individual parameters. Several parameters accommodate wide-ranging variations in their values without deterioration of the fit and there are significant correlations between parameters. In particular, a robust linear correlation between pairs of related parameters admits a seventeen parameter fit as effective as the best thirty-three parameter fit. The effect of sizeable parameter changes on various properties of exotic nuclei is found to be small, though not entirely negligible.