Recent Developments in Few-Nucleon Systems

N-d elastic scattering is studied at different energies using one of the modern NN interactions, the Argonne v_{18} which explicitly includes the magnetic moment interaction between two nucleons. This interaction, which has been often neglected in the description of the few-nucleon continuum, produces sizable modifications in some elastic observables. Its effects, as well as those produced by the Coulomb potential, are analyzed as a function of energy. The magnetic moment interaction produces appreciable effects in $p-d$ scattering at low energies butthey are very small above 10 MeV. Above 65 MeV Coulomb effects can be observed only in specific observables as for example $T_{21}$.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, invited talk at the 17th International IUPAP Conference on Few-Body problems in Physics, June 5-10, 2003, Durham (USA

Recent Developments in Few-Nucleon Scattering

Using modern nucleon-nucleon interactions in the description of the $A=3,4$ nuclei, it is not possible to reproduce both the three- and four-nucleon binding energies simultaneously. This is one manifestation of the necessity of including a three-nucleon force in the nuclear Hamiltonian. Several models of the three-nucleon force exist and are applied in the description of light nuclei. However, as it is discussed here, a simultaneous description of the three- and four-body binding energies and the $n-d$ doublet scattering length seems to be problematic. Accordingly, a comparative study of some of these models is performed. In a different analysis, we study applications of the Kohn Variational Principle, formulated in terms of integral relations, to describe $N-d$ scattering processes.Comment: invited talk presented in 19th International IUPAP Conference on Few-Body Problems in Physic

The complex Kohn variational method applied to N-d scattering

The three-nucleon ground state and the N--d scattering states are obtained using variational principles. The wave function of the system is decomposed into angular-spin-isospin channels and the corresponding two dimensional spatial amplitudes are expanded in a correlated polynomial basis. For the scattering states, the complex form of the Kohn variational principle is used to determine the $S$--matrix. Special attention is given to the convergence pattern of the phase-shift and mixing parameters. The calculations have been performed using realistic local NN potentials and three-nucleon forces. Important features of the method are anomaly-free solutions and the low dimensionality of the matrices involved allowing for the inclusion of a large number of states. Very precise and stable numerical results have been obtained.Comment: Latex, 22 pages; 5 figure

Weakly bound states with spin-isospin symmetry

We discuss weakly bound states of a few-fermion system having spin-isospin symmetry. This corresponds to the nuclear physics case in which the singlet, $a_0$, and triplet, $a_1$, $n-p$ scattering lengths are large with respect to the range of the nuclear interaction. The ratio of the two is about $a_0/a_1\approx-4.31$. This value defines a plane in which $a_0$ and $a_1$ can be varied up to the unitary limit, $1/a_0=0$ and $1/a_1=0$, maintaining its ratio fixed. Using a spin dependant potential model we estimate the three-nucleon binding energy along that plane. This analysis can be considered an extension of the Efimov plot for three bosons to the case of three $1/2$-spin-isospin fermions.Comment: Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Few-Body Problems in Physics. May 18-22, 2015. Chicago, Illinois, US

Selected Topics in Three- and Four-Nucleon Systems

Two different aspects of the description of three- and four-nucleon systems are addressed. The use of bound state like wave functions to describe scattering states in $N-d$ collisions at low energies and the effects of some of the widely used three-nucleon force models in selected polarization observables in the three- and four-nucleon systems are discussed.Comment: Presented at the 21st European Conference on Few-Body Problems in Physics, Salamanca, Spain, 30 August - 3 September 201

Central and tensor components of three-nucleon forces in low-energy proton-deuteron scattering

Contributions of three-nucleon forces (3NF) to proton-deuteron scattering observables at energies below the deuteron breakup threshold are studied by solving the Faddeev equation that includes the Coulomb interaction. At E_p=3.0 MeV, we find that the central part of a two-pion exchange 3NF removes the discrepancy between measured cross sections and the calculated ones by two-nucleon forces, and improves the agreement with T_{22} experimental data. However, the tensor part of the 3NF fails in reproducing data of the analyzing power T_{21} by giving worse agreement between the measured and the calculated. Detailed examinations of scattering amplitudes suggest that a P-wave contribution in spin quartet tensor amplitudes has unsuitable sign for reproducing the T_{21} data.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure