Constraining the neutron-neutron scattering length using the effective field theory without explicit pions

2011/06/16 by Johannes Kirscher, Daniel R. Phillips
Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic and Molecular Physics #Atomic physics #Binding energy #Effective field theory #Field (mathematics) #Mathematics #Neutron #Neutron scattering #Nuclear physics #Nuclear physics research studies #Particle physics #Physics #Pion #Proton #Quantum Chromodynamics and Particle Interactions #Quantum mechanics #Scattering #Scattering length #Small-angle neutron scattering #nucl-ex #nucl-th

paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevc.84.054004

28 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables

arxiv created 2011/06/16 · openalex publication_date 2011/11/10 · arxiv updated 2013/05/29 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

We compute a model-independent correlation between the difference of neutron-neutron and proton-proton scattering lengths, |a_nn\ensuremath-a_pp^C|, and the splitting in binding energies between helium-3 and tritium nuclei. We use the effective field theory without explicit pions to show that this correlation relies only on the existence of large scattering lengths in the NN system. Our leading-order calculation, taken together with experimental values for binding energies and a_pp^C, yields a_nn=\ensuremath-22.9\ifmmode±\else\textpm\fi4.1fm.

Citations

• Charge-symmetry-breaking three-nucleon forces
• Low energy proton-proton scattering in effective field theory
• High-precision, charge-dependent Bonn nucleon-nucleon potential
• Renormalization group approach to two-body scattering in the presence of long-range forces
• Proton-proton fusion in effective field theory
• Isospin dependence of the three-nucleon force
• Proton–proton scattering lengths from effective field theory
• Charge-dependent nucleon–nucleon potential from chiral effective field theory
• Charge symmetry breaking of the nucleon-nucleon interaction: ρ-ω mixing versus nucleon mass splitting
• Charge Symmetry Breaking and QCD