Extended Thomas-Fermi density functionals in the presence of a tensor interaction in spherical symmetry

For a one-body Hamiltonian obtained from the energy-density functional associated with a Skyrme effective interaction, including a tensor force, semiclassical functional densities are derived in the framework of the Extended Thomas-Fermi method, in spherical symmetry, for the kinetic energy and spin-orbit density. The structure of the self-consistent mean-field potentials constructed with such semiclassical functionals is studied. The impact of the tensor force in particular on the spin-orbit form factor clearly indicates the necessity of including such tensor-force terms in the theoretical description of atomic nuclei and their possible influence on the shell structure of exotic nuclei. © 2008 The American Physical Society.