Excited-state Quantum Phase Transitions in the Finite-N Boson System

In this work, a phenomenological analysis of the excited-state quantum phase transitions (ESQPTs) in the finite-N boson system has been carried out within the interacting boson model in order to reveal the possibility of finding ESQPTs in nuclear systems. Particularly, the angular momentum and finite-N effects on the ESQPTs in the U(5)-SU(3) and SU(3)-O(6) transitional regions have been systematically investigated. The results indicate that the main features of ESQPTs can be well preserved even at a realistic boson number for small angular momentum but will gradually disappear as the angular momentum increases.