Statistical theory versus shell model in a large pf configuration space

Spectral distribution method and exact shell-model predictions for the strength sums of different transition operators are compared in detail for the J=0, T−Tz=0 states of 46V and 50Sc using the full pf shell. Good agreement of both models is observed in the high level density region of the energy spectrum, where chaotic motion is dominant, and larger discrepancies are observed in the ground state region, where nuclear motion is more regular. The agreement in the chaotic region becomes especially good in the 5986 dimensional space of 50Sc, illustrating the quality of the statistical theory in large configuration spaces.