Coarse graining the Bethe-Goldstone equation: nucleon-nucleon high momentum components

The delta-shell representation of the nuclear force allows a simplified treatment of nuclear correlations. We show how this applies to the Bethe-Goldstone equation as an integral equation in coordinate space with a few mesh points, which is solved by inversion of a 5-dimensional square matrix in the single channel cases and a $10\times10$ matrix for the tensor-coupled channels. This allows us to readily obtain the high momentum distribution, for all partial waves, of a back-to-back correlated nucleon pair in nuclear matter. We find that the probability of finding a high-momentum correlated neutron-proton pair is about 18 times that of a proton-proton one, as a result of the strong tensor force, thus confirming in an independent way previous results and measurements.Comment: 19 pages and 10 figure

Coarse grained NN potential with Chiral Two Pion Exchange

We determine the chiral constants of the Nucleon-Nucleon Two Pion Exchange potential deduced from Chiral Perturbation Theory. By using a coarse grained representation of the short distance interactions with 30 parameters, the Partial Wave Analysis fit gives chi^2/dof = 1.1 to a mutually consistent set of 6713 data previously built from all published proton-proton and neutron proton scattering data from 1950 till 2013 with LAB energy below 350 MeV. We obtain (c1, c3, c4)=(-0.41+- 1.08,-4.66+- 0.60, 4.31+- 0.17)/GeV with an almost 100% anti-correlation between c1 and c3. We also provide the errors in the short distance parameters and propagate them to the deuteron properties and low partial waves phase shifts.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, 11 tables. Enlarged versio

Nuclear Binding Energies and NN uncertainties

There is an increasing interest in quantifying the predictive power in nuclear structure calculations. We discuss how both experimental and systematic errors at the NN-level can be used to estimate the theoretical uncertainties by rather simple means and without solving the full nuclear many body problem. We emphasize the role of effective interactions defined by coarse graining the NN potential to length scales of the order of the minimal de Broglie wavelength probed between nucleons in nuclei. We find an a priori error of \DeltaB/A \sim 0.1 - 0.4MeV for the binding energy per particle throughout the periodic table for 2 \leq A \leq 208, and a linear growth of the error with density for nuclear matter \DeltaB/A \sim 3.75{\rho}n.m. and neutron matter \DeltaB/N \sim 3.5{\rho}n.. This suggests to limit the computational effort in solving the Nuclear Many Body Problem to such an accuracy.Comment: 6 pages. 2 figures. Presented by RNP at Sixth International Conference on Quarks and Nuclear Physics, April 16-20, 2012. Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau, Paris, Franc

Low energy chiral two pion exchange potential with statistical uncertainties

We present a new phenomenological Nucleon-Nucleon chiral potential fitted to 925 pp and 1743 np scattering data selected from the Granada-2013 NN-database up to a laboratory energy of $125$ MeV with 20 short distance parameters and three chiral constants $c_1$, $c_3$ and $c_4$ with $\chi^2/\nu = 1.02$. Special attention is given to testing the normality of the residuals which allows for a sound propagation of statistical errors from the experimental data to the potential parameters, phase-shifts, scattering amplitudes and counter-terms. This fit allows for a new determination of the chiral constants $c_1$, $c_3$ and $c_4$ compatible with previous determinations from NN data. This new interactions is found to be softer than other high quality potentials by undertaking a Weinberg eigenvalue analysis. We further explore the interplay between the error analysis and the assumed form of the short distance interaction. The present work shows that it is possible to fit NN scattering with a TPE chiral potential fulfilling all necessary statistical requirements up to 125 MeV and shows unequivocal non-vanishing D-wave short distance pieces.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures, 5 tables. Enlarged version including Weinberg eigenvalue analysis and cut-off dependenc

Effective interactions in the delta-shells potential

We determine two-body Skyrme force parameters from a Nucleon-Nucleon interaction as a function of the maximal momentum fitting NN scattering data. We find general agreement with Vlowk interactions based on high quality potentials.Comment: 4 page, 1 figure, Presented by R.N.P. at the 20th International IUPAP Conference on Few-Body Problems in Physics, 20 - 25 August, 2012, Fukuoka, Japa

Error Analysis of Nuclear Matrix Elements

We estimate the expected errors of nuclear matrix elements coming from the uncertainty on the NN interaction. We use a coarse grained (GR) interaction fitted to NN scattering data, with several prescriptions for the long-part of the interaction, including one pion exchange and chiral two-pion exchange interactions.Comment: Presented at the 22th European Conference On Few-Body Problems In Physics: EFB22 9 - 13 Sep 2013, Krakow (Poland

Coarse grained Potential analysis of neutron-proton and proton-proton scattering below pion production threshold

Using the delta-shell representation we present a successful fit to neutron-proton and proton-proton scattering data below pion production threshold. A detailed overview of the theory necessary to calculate observables with this potential is presented. A new data selection process is used to obtain the largest mutually consistent data base. The analysis includes data within the years 1950 to 2013. Using 46 parameters we obtain chi^2/Ndata = 1.04 with Ndata = 6713 including normalization data. Phase shifts with error bars are provided.Comment: 32 pages, 1 figure, 10 table

Statistical Error analysis of Nucleon-Nucleon phenomenological potentials

Nucleon-Nucleon potentials are commonplace in nuclear physics and are determined from a finite number of experimental data with limited precision sampling the scattering process. We study the statistical assumptions implicit in the standard least squares fitting procedure and apply, along with more conventional tests, a tail sensitive quantile-quantile test as a simple and confident tool to verify the normality of residuals. We show that the fulfilment of normality tests is linked to a judicious and consistent selection of a nucleon-nucleon database. These considerations prove crucial to a proper statistical error analysis and uncertainty propagation. We illustrate these issues by analyzing about 8000 proton-proton and neutron-proton scattering published data. This enables the construction of potentials meeting all statistical requirements necessary for statistical uncertainty estimates in nuclear structure calculations.Comment: 20 pages. 13 figures. 10 tables, (minor numerical changes) Physical Review C (to appear

Precise Determination of Charge Dependent Pion-Nucleon-Nucleon Coupling Constants

We undertake a covariance error analysis of the pion-nucleon-nucleon coupling constants from the Granada-2013 np and pp database comprising a total of 6720 scattering data below LAB energy of 350 MeV. Assuming a unique pion-nucleon coupling constant in the One Pion Exchange potential above a boundary radius $r_c=3 {\rm fm}$ we obtain $f^2=0.0763(1)$. The effects of charge symmetry breaking on the $^3P_0$, $^3P_1$ and $^3P_2$ partial waves are analyzed and we find $f_{p}^2 = 0.0761(4)$, $f_{0}^2 = 0.0790(9)$ and $f_{c}^2 = 0.0772(6)$ with a strong anti-correlation between $f_c^2$ and $f_0^2$. We successfully test normality for the residuals of the fit. Potential tails in terms of different boundary radii as well as chiral Two-Pion-Exchange contributions as sources of systematic uncertainty are also investigated.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, 13 tables. Discussion on naturalness, Analysis of systematic errors, Inclusion of Two Pion Exchange and Tables with phases-shifts adde

The Low energy structure of the Nucleon-Nucleon interaction: Statistical vs Systematic Uncertainties

We analyze the low energy NN interaction by confronting statistical vs systematic uncertainties. This is carried out with the help of model potentials fitted to the Granada-2013 database where a statistically meaningful partial wave analysis comprising a total of $6713$ np and pp published scattering data from 1950 till 2013 below $350 {\rm MeV}$ has been made. We extract threshold parameters uncertainties from the coupled channel effective range expansion up to $j \le 5$. We find that for threshold parameters systematic uncertainties are generally at least an order of magnitude larger than statistical uncertainties. Similar results are found for np phase-shifts and amplitude parameters.Comment: 18 pages. 6 tables. 8 Figures. Includes results presented at Workshop on Information and Statistics in Nuclear Experiment and Theory (ISNET-3) ECT* Trento, Italy, 16-20 November 2015. To appear in Jour. Phys.