Three-body spin-orbit forces from chiral two-pion exchange

Using chiral perturbation theory, we calculate the density-dependent spin-orbit coupling generated by the two-pion exchange three-nucleon interaction involving virtual $\Delta$-isobar excitation. From the corresponding three-loop Hartree and Fock diagrams we obtain an isoscalar spin-orbit strength $F_{\rm so}(k_f)$ which amounts at nuclear matter saturation density to about half of the empirical value of $90$MeVfm$^5$. The associated isovector spin-orbit strength $G_{\rm so}(k_f)$ comes out about a factor of 20 smaller. Interestingly, this three-body spin-orbit coupling is not a relativistic effect but independent of the nucleon mass $M$. Furthermore, we calculate the three-body spin-orbit coupling generated by two-pion exchange on the basis of the most general chiral $\pi\pi NN$-contact interaction. We find similar (numerical) results for the isoscalar and isovector spin-orbit strengths $F_{\rm so}(k_f)$ and $G_{\rm so}(k_f)$ with a strong dominance of the p-wave part of the $\pi\pi NN$-contact interaction and the Hartree contribution.Comment: 8 pages, 4figure, published in : Physical Review C68, 054001 (2003

Chiral pion-nucleon dynamics in finite nuclei: spin-isospin excitations

The nuclear density functional framework, based on chiral dynamics and the symmetry breaking pattern of low-energy QCD, is extended to the description of collective nuclear excitations. Starting from the relativistic point-coupling Lagrangian previously introduced [Nucl. Phys. A770 (2006) 1], the proton-neutron (quasiparticle) random phase approximation is formulated and applied to investigate the role of chiral pion-nucleon dynamics in excitation modes involving spin and isospin degrees of freedom, e.g. isobaric analog states and Gamow-Teller resonances.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, elsart class. Minor revisions, Nuclear Physics A in prin

Symmetrization and enhancement of the continuous Morlet transform

The forward and inverse wavelet transform using the continuous Morlet basis may be symmetrized by using an appropriate normalization factor. The loss of response due to wavelet truncation is addressed through a renormalization of the wavelet based on power. The spectral density has physical units which may be related to the squared amplitude of the signal, as do its margins the mean wavelet power and the integrated instant power, giving a quantitative estimate of the power density with temporal resolution. Deconvolution with the wavelet response matrix reduces the spectral leakage and produces an enhanced wavelet spectrum providing maximum resolution of the harmonic content of a signal. Applications to data analysis are discussed.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables, minor revision, final versio

Nuclear Many-Body Dynamics constrained by QCD and Chiral Symmetry

We present a novel description of nuclear many-body systems, both for nuclear matter and finite nuclei, emphasizing the connection with the condensate structure of the QCD ground state and spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking. Lorentz scalar and vector mean-fields are introduced in accordance with QCD sum rules. Nuclear binding arises from pionic fluctuations, using in-medium chiral perturbation theory up to three-loop order. Ground state properties of $^{16}$O and $^{40}$Ca are calculated. The built-in QCD constraints reduce the number of input parameters significantly in comparison with purely phenomenological relativistic mean-field approaches.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, to be published in European Physical Journal

Spin-orbit coupling in nuclei and realistic nucleon-nucleon potentials

We analyze the spin-orbit coupling term in the nuclear energy density functional in terms of a zero-range NN-contact interaction and finite-range contributions from two-pion exchange. We show that the strength of the spin-orbit contact interaction as extracted from high-precision nucleon-nucleon potentials is in perfect agreement with that of phenomenological Skyrme forces employed in non-relativistic nuclear structure calculations. Additional long-range contributions from chiral two-pion exchange turn out to be relatively small. These explicitly density-dependent contributions reduce the ratio of the isovector to the isoscalar spin-orbit strength significantly below the Skyrme value 1/3. We perform a similar analysis for the strength function of the $(\vec \nabla \rho)^2$-term and find values not far from those of phenomenological Skyrme parameterizations.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review C70 (2004

Three episodes of jet activity in the FRII radio galaxy B0925+420

We present Very Large Array images of a "Double-Double Radio Galaxy", a class of objects in which two pairs of lobes are aligned either side of the nucleus. In this object, B0925+420, we discover a third pair of lobes, close to the core and again in alignment with the other lobes. This first-known "Triple-Double" object strongly increases the likelihood that these lobes represent mutiple episodes of jet activity, as opposed to knots in an underlying jet. We model the lobes in terms of their dynamical evolution. We find that the inner pair of lobes is consistent with the outer pair having been displaced buoyantly by the ambient medium. The middle pair of lobes is more problematic - to the extent where an alternative model interpreting the middle and inner "lobes" as additional bow shocks within the outer lobes may be more appropriate - and we discuss the implications of this on our understanding of the density of the ambient medium.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Figure 2 is best viewed in colou