We compute nuclear response functions by solving the time-dependent $A$-body Schrödinger equation, recording the time-dependent transition moment and extracting spectral information via Fourier transforms. The solution of the time-dependent many-body problem accounts for correlations on top of the mean field by taking advantage of a time-dependent formulation of coupled-cluster theory. As a validation, we focus on electric dipole transitions in ${}^4\mathrm{He}$ and ${}^{16}\mathrm{O}$ and compare moments of the response function distribution to the results of an equivalent static framework, finding negligible discrepancies. We investigate how proton and neutron densities evolve in time, and we see the traditional picture of soft and giant dipole resonances as collective oscillations of protons and neutrons emerging from our calculations in ${}^{16}\mathrm{O}$ and ${}^{24}\mathrm{O}$. This method also allows us to investigate the behavior of the nucleus in the presence of a strong electric field. In that regime, the behavior of the system becomes chaotic. Qualitatively, the spectral information obtained in this limit is in line with previous time-dependent mean-field results.

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• Ab initio calculations
• Cluster models
• Linear response theory
• Nuclear many-body theory
• Optical, coupled-channel & distorted wave models