  A microscopic theoretical approach based on a self-consistent density
functional theory for the nuclear ground state and QRPA formalism extended with
multi-phonon degrees of freedom for the nuclear excited states is implemented
in investigations of new low-energy modes called pygmy resonances. Advantage of
the method is the unified description of low-energy multiphonon excitations,
pygmy resonances and core polarization effects. This is found of crucial
importance for the understanding of the fine structure of nuclear response
functions at low energies. Aspects of the precise knowledge of nuclear response
functions around the neutron threshold are discussed in a connection to
nucleosynthesis.
