2019/02/07 by U. van Kolck, van Kolck, U.
Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic and Molecular Physics #FOS: Physical sciences #High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph) #Nuclear Theory (nucl-th) #Nuclear physics research studies #Quantum Chromodynamics and Particle Interactions #Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1902.03141
openalex publication_date 2019/02/07 · openalex created_date 2019/02/21 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
These lectures are a pedagogical -- not comprehensive -- introduction to the applications of effective field theory in the context of nuclear and atomic physics. A common feature of these applications is the interplay between nonperturbative physics (needed at leading order to produce nonrelativistic bound states and resonances) and controlled perturbative corrections (crucial for predictive power). The essential ideas are illustrated with the simplest nuclear EFT, Pionless EFT, which contains only contact interactions and, with minor changes, can be adapted to certain atomic systems. This EFT exploits the two-body unitarity limit, where renormalization leads to discrete scale invariance in systems of three and more bodies. Remarkably complex structures then arise from very simple leading-order interactions. Some of the challenges and rewards of including long-range forces -- pion exchange in Chiral EFT for nuclear systems or Van der Waals forces between atoms -- are briefly described.