Relativistic continuum Hartree Bogoliubov theory for ground-state properties of exotic nuclei

The Relativistic Continuum Hartree–Bogoliubov (RCHB) theory, which properly takes into account the pairing correlation and the coupling to (discretized) continuum via Bogoliubov transformation in a microscopic and self-consistent way, has been reviewed together with its new interpretation of the halo phenomena observed in light nuclei as the scattering of particle pairs into the continuum, the prediction of the exotic phenomena — giant halos in nuclei near neutron drip line, the reproduction of interaction cross sections and charge-changing cross sections in light exotic nuclei in combination with the Glauber theory, better restoration of pseudo-spin symmetry in exotic nuclei, predictions of exotic phenomena in hypernuclei, and new magic numbers in superheavy nuclei, etc. Recent investigations on new effective interactions, the density dependence of the interaction strengths, the RMF theory on the Woods–Saxon basis, the single-particle resonant states, and the resonant BCS (rBCS) method for the pairing correlation, etc. are also presented in some detail.