Limitations of the number self-consistent random phase approximation

The quasiparticle random phase approximation (QRPA) equations are solved taking into account the Pauli principle at the expectation value level, and allowing changes in the mean field occupation numbers to minimize the energy while having the correct number of particles in the correlated vacuum. The study of Fermi pn excitations in ⁷⁶Ge using a realistic Hilbert space shows that the pairing energy gaps in the modified mean field are diminished up to one half of the experimental value when strong proton-neutron correlations are present. Additionally, the Ikeda sum rule for Fermi transitions is violated due to the lack of scattering terms in the phonon operators. These results call for a critical revision of the double β decay half-lives estimated using the QRPA extensions when standard QRPA calculations collapse.