  We compute ground-state and dynamical properties of $^4$He and $^{16}$O
nuclei using as input high-resolution, phenomenological nucleon-nucleon and
three-nucleon forces that are local in coordinate space. The nuclear
Schr\"odinger equation for both nuclei is accurately solved employing the
auxiliary-field diffusion Monte Carlo approach. For the $^4$He nucleus,
detailed benchmarks are carried out with the hyperspherical harmonics method.
In addition to presenting results for the binding energies and radii, we also
analyze the momentum distributions of these nuclei and their Euclidean response
function corresponding to the isoscalar density transition. The latter quantity
is particularly relevant for lepton-nucleus scattering experiments, as it paves
the way to quantum Monte Carlo calculations of electroweak response functions
of $^{16}$O.
