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Abstract

Starting from an independent-particle model with a finite and arbitrary set of single-particle energies, we develop an analytical approximation to the many-body level density $\rho_A(E)$ and to particle-hole densities. We use exact expressions for the low-order moments and cumulants to derive approximate expressions for the coefficients of an expansion of these densities in terms of orthogonal polynomials. The approach is asymptotically (mass number $A \gg 1$) convergent and, for large $A$, covers about 20 orders of magnitude near the maximum of $\rho_A(E)$ (i.e., about half the spectrum). Densities of accessible states are calculated using the Fermi-gas model.