The nonperturbative nature of nucleon-nucleon interactions as a function of a
momentum cutoff is studied using Weinberg eigenvalues as a diagnostic. This
investigation extends an earlier study of the perturbative convergence of the
Born series to partial waves beyond the 3S1-3D1 channel and to positive
energies. As the cutoff is lowered using renormalization-group or model-space
techniques, the evolution of nonperturbative features at large cutoffs from
strong short-range repulsion and the iterated tensor interaction are monitored
via the complex Weinberg eigenvalues. When all eigenvalues lie within the unit
circle, the expansion of the scattering amplitude in terms of the interaction
is perturbative, with the magnitude of the largest eigenvalue setting the rate
of convergence. Major decreases in the magnitudes of repulsive eigenvalues are
observed as the Argonne v18, CD-Bonn or Nijmegen potentials are evolved to low
momentum, even though two-body observables are unchanged. For chiral EFT
potentials, running the cutoff lower tames the impact of the tensor force and
of new nonperturbative features entering at N3LO. The efficacy of separable
approximations to nuclear interactions derived from the Weinberg analysis is
studied as a function of cutoff, and the connection to inverse scattering is
demonstrated.Comment: 21 pages, 15 figures, minor additions, to appear in Nucl. Phys.