Configuration Interaction studies of Nuclear Clustering*

The formation of distinct sub-structures within an atomic nucleus, appropriately termed nuclear clustering, is one of the core questions of nuclear many-body physics. In this work, we study the α-cluster aspects of light nuclei by constructing translationally invariant, fully antisymmetrized cluster reaction channels and combining them with Configuration Interaction approaches and the Resonating Group Method. We discuss signatures of α-clustering within the modern shell model and the emergence of cluster rotational bands from a No Core Shell Model perspective.