2026-07-072026-07-07http://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/191135Shell corrections of finite, spherical, one-body potentials are analyzed using a smoothing procedure which properly accounts for the contribution from the particle continuum, i.e., unbound states. Since the plateau condition for the smoothed single-particle energy seldom holds, a new recipe is suggested for the definition of the shell correction. The generalized Strutinsky smoothing procedure is compared with the results of the semi-classical Wigner-Kirkwood expansion. A good agreement has been found for weakly bound nuclei in the vicinity of the proton drip line. However, some deviations remain for extremely neutron-rich systems due to the pathological behavior of the semi-classical level density around the particle threshold.18 pages, 8 figuresNuclear Theorytext