The Interacting Boson Model (IBM) is a model in nuclear physics in which nucleons (protons or neutrons) pair up, essentially acting as a single particle with boson properties, with integral spin of 0, 2 or 4.

The IBM-I treats both types of nucleons the same and considers only pairs of nucleons coupled to total angular momentum 0 and 2, called respectively, s and d bosons.

The IBM-II treats protons and neutrons separately.

History

This model has been invented by A.Arima and F.Iachello.

See also

• Liquid drop model
• Shell model

Nuclear physics