Abstract
We perform the first fully consistent analysis of scattering at next-to-next-to-leading order in chiral effective field theory including the corresponding three-nucleon force and extending our previous work, where only the two-nucleon interaction has been taken into account. The three-nucleon force appears first at this order in the chiral expansion and depends on two unknown parameters. These two parameters are determined from the triton binding energy and doublet scattering length. We find an improved description of various scattering observables in relation to the next-to-leading order results especially at moderate energies It is demonstrated that the long-standing problem in elastic scattering is still not solved by the leading 3NF, although some visible improvement is observed. We discuss possibilities of solving this puzzle. The predicted binding energy for the particle agrees with the empirical value.
- Received 14 August 2002
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.66.064001
©2002 American Physical Society
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Physical Review C 50th Anniversary Milestones
This collection of milestone papers from PRC highlights research that remains central to current developments in nuclear physics.