The low-energy nuclear density of states and the saddle point approximation

The nuclear density of states plays an important role in nuclear reactions. At high energies, above a few MeV, the nuclear density of states is well described by a formula that depends on the smooth single particle density of states at the Fermi surface, the nuclear shell correction and the pairing energy. In this paper we present an analysis of the low energy behaviour of the nuclear density of states using the saddle point approximation and extensions to it. Furthermore, we prescribe a simple parabolic form for excitation energy, in the low energy limit, which may facilitate an easy computation of level densities.