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We compare nuclear forces derived from chiral effective field theory (EFT) with those obtained from traditional (phenomenological and meson) models. By means of a careful analysis of paralleles and differences, we show that chiral EFT is superior to all earlier approaches in terms of both formal aspects and successful applications in ab initio calculations. However, in spite of the considerable progress made possible by chiral EFT, complete satisfaction cannot be claimed until outstanding problems---the renormalization issue being the most important one---are finally settled., Comment: 23 pages, 21 figures; commissioned for the Topical Issue of The European Physical Journal A - Hadrons and Nuclei entitled "The tower of effective (field) theories and the emergence of nuclear phenomena."

Temperature effects on the neutron matter equation of state are investigated in the framework of chiral effective field theory. Latest, state-of-the-art chiral two-nucleon forces are applied from third to fifth order in the chiral expansion together with chiral three-nucleon forces, allowing for a determination of the truncation error of the theoretical predictions. The thermodynamic quantities considered include the chemical potential, the internal energy, the entropy, and the free energy. In general, good order-by-order convergence of all predictions is observed. As to be expected, temperature effects are largest at low density. The temperature dependence of the chiral three-nucleon force turns out to be weak., Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures

We report the first measurement of the $(e,e'p)$ reaction cross-section ratios for Helium-3 ($^3$He), Tritium ($^3$H), and Deuterium ($d$). The measurement covered a missing momentum range of $40 \le p_{miss} \le 550$ MeV$/c$, at large momentum transfer ($\langle Q^2 \rangle \approx 1.9$ (GeV$/c$)$^2$) and $x_B>1$, which minimized contributions from non quasi-elastic (QE) reaction mechanisms. The data is compared with plane-wave impulse approximation (PWIA) calculations using realistic spectral functions and momentum distributions. The measured and PWIA-calculated cross-section ratios for $^3$He$/d$ and $^3$H$/d$ extend to just above the typical nucleon Fermi-momentum ($k_F \approx 250$ MeV$/c$) and differ from each other by $\sim 20\%$, while for $^3$He/$^3$H they agree within the measurement accuracy of about 3\%. At momenta above $k_F$, the measured $^3$He/$^3$H ratios differ from the calculation by $20\% - 50\%$. Final state interaction (FSI) calculations using the generalized Eikonal Approximation indicate that FSI should change the $^3$He/$^3$H cross-section ratio for this measurement by less than 5\%. If these calculations are correct, then the differences at large missing momenta between the $^3$He/$^3$H experimental and calculated ratios could be due to the underlying $NN$ interaction, and thus could provide new constraints on the previously loosely-constrained short-distance parts of the $NN$ interaction., Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures (4 panels)

We study momentum distributions and short-range correlation probabilities in $A$=2 and $A$=3 systems. First, we show results with phenomenological and meson-theoretic two- and three-nucleon forces to verify consistency with previous similar studies. We then apply most recent high-quality chiral nucleon-nucleon potentials up to fifth order in the chiral expansion together with the leading chiral three-nucleon force. Predictions are examined in the context of a broader discussion of short-range correlation probabilities extracted from analyses of inclusive electron scattering data, addressing the question of whether modern interactions can be reconciled with the latter., Comment: 20 pages, 18 figures and 8 tables

We present predictions for the equation of state of symmetric nuclear and pure neutron matter based on recent high-quality nucleon-nucleon potentials from leading order to fifth order in the chiral expansion. We include as well the next-to-next-to-leading order (N2LO) chiral three-nucleon force whose low-energy constants cD and cE are fitted to the binding energies of 3H and 3He as well as the \b{eta}-decay lifetime of 3H. The ground state energy per particle is computed in the particle- particle ladder approximation up to a few times saturation density. Due to the soft character of the interactions, uncertainties due to the convergence in many-body perturbation theory are small. We find that nuclear matter saturation is reproduced quantitatively at N3LO and N4LO, and therefore we encourage the application of these interactions in finite nuclei, where the description of ground- state energies and charge radii of medium-mass nuclei may be improved., Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures

During the past two decades, chiral effective field theory has become a popular tool to derive nuclear forces from first principles. Two-nucleon interactions have been worked out up to sixth order of chiral perturbation theory and three-nucleon forces up to fifth order. Applications of some of these forces have been conducted in nuclear few- and many-body systems---with a certain degree of success. But in spite of these achievements, we are still faced with great challenges. Among them is the issue of a proper uncertainty quantification of predictions obtained when applying these forces in {\it ab initio} calculations of nuclear structure and reactions. A related problem is the order by order convergence of the chiral expansion. We start this review with a pedagogical introduction and then present the current status of the field of chiral nuclear forces. This is followed by a discussion of representative examples for the application of chiral two- and three-body forces in the nuclear many-body system including convergence issues., Comment: 66 pages, 28 figures. Invited contribution to Special Physica Scripta Edition commemorating the 40-th Anniversary of the Nobel Prize for Bohr, Mottelson, and Rainwater

Realistic nuclear potentials, derived within chiral perturbation theory, are a major breakthrough in modern nuclear structure theory, since they provide a direct link between nuclear physics and its underlying theory, namely the QCD. As a matter of fact, chiral potentials are tailored on the low-energy regime of nuclear structure physics, and chiral perturbation theory provides on the same footing two-nucleon forces as well as many-body ones. This feature fits well with modern advances in ab-initio methods and realistic shell-model. Here, we will review recent nuclear structure calculations, based on realistic chiral potentials, for both finite nuclei and infinite nuclear matter., Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, plenary talk presented at "Nucleus-Nucleus 2015" Conference, 21-26 June 2015, Catania, to be published in the "Conference Proceedings" Series of the Italian Physical Society

Spin-polarized neutron matter is studied using chiral two- and three-body forces. We focus, in particular, on predictions of the energy per particle in ferromagnetic neutron matter at different orders of chiral effective field theory and for different choices of the resolution scale. We discuss the convergence pattern of the predictions and their cutoff dependence. We explore to which extent fully polarized neutron matter behaves (nearly) like a free Fermi gas. We also consider the more general case of partial polarization in neutron matter as well as the presence of a small proton fraction. In other words, in our calculations, we vary both spin and isospin asymmetries. Confirming the findings of other microscopic calculations performed with different approaches, we report no evidence for a transition to a polarized phase of neutron matter5, Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1104.0437

We calculate the nuclear and neutron matter equations of state from microscopic nuclear forces at different orders in chiral effective field theory and with varying momentum-space cutoff scales. We focus attention on how the order-by-order convergence depends on the choice of resolution scale and the implications for theoretical uncertainty estimates on the isospin asymmetry energy. Specifically we study the equations of state using consistent NLO and N2LO (next-to-next-to-leading order) chiral potentials where the low-energy constants cD and cE associated with contact vertices in the N2LO chiral three-nucleon force are fitted to reproduce the binding energies of 3H and 3He as well as the beta-decay lifetime of 3H. At these low orders in the chiral expansion there is little sign of convergence, while an exploratory study employing the N3LO two-nucleon force together with the N2LO three-nucleon force give first indications for (slow) convergence with low-cutoff potentials and poor convergence with higher-cutoff potentials. The consistent NLO and N2LO potentials described in the present work provide the basis for estimating theoretical uncertainties associated with the order-by-order convergence of nuclear many-body calculations in chiral effective field theory., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in Physical Review C

We present a formalism to solve the Bethe-Goldstone scattering equation without the use of partial wave expansion which is alternative to the one we developed in a previous work. The present approach is more suitable for the calculation of in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross sections, which are the focal point of this paper. The impact of removing the spherical approximation on the angle and energy dependence of, particularly, in-medium proton-proton and proton-neutron differential cross sections is discussed along with its potential implication.

We compute the energy per particle of infinite symmetric nuclear matter from chiral N3LO (next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order) two-body potentials plus N2LO three-body forces. The low-energy constants of the chiral three-nucleon force that cannot be constrained by two-body observables are fitted to reproduce the triton binding energy and the 3H-3He Gamow-Teller transition matrix element. In this way, the saturation properties of nuclear matter are reproduced in a parameter-free approach. The equation of state is computed up to third order in many-body perturbation theory, with special emphasis on the role of the third-order particle-hole diagram. The dependence of these results on the cutoff scale and regulator function is studied. We find that the inclusion of three-nucleon forces consistent with the applied two-nucleon interaction leads to a reduced dependence on the choice of the regulator only for lower values of the cutoff., Comment: 9 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables, to be published in Physical Review C. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1209.5537

We calculate perturbatively the energy per nucleon in infinite nuclear matter with a chiral N3LO (next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order) two-body potential plus a N2LO three-body force (3BF). The 3BF low-energy constants which cannot be constrained by two-body observables are chosen such as to reproduce the A=3 binding energies and the triton Gamow-Teller matrix element. This enables to study the nuclear matter equation of state in a parameter-free approach., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, talk presented at "XIV Convegno su Problemi di Fisica Nucleare Teorica", Cortona October 29-31, 2013. Submitted to Journal of Physics: Conferences Series

We present a method for solving the nucleon-nucleon scattering equation without the use of a partial wave expansion of the scattering amplitude. After verifying the accuracy of the numerical solutions, we proceed to apply the method to the in-medium scattering equation (the Bethe-Goldstone equation) in three dimensions. A focal point is a study of Pauli blocking effects calculated in the (angle-dependent) three-dimensional formalism as compared to the usual spherical approximation. We discuss our results and their implications.

We present updated predictions of effective elastic nucleon-nucleon cross sections intended for use in nucleus-nucleus reactions. A novel characteristic of the present approach combines all microscopic medium effects included in the Dirac-Brueckner-Hartree-Fock G-matrix with a Pauli blocking mechanism which is more appropriate for applications in ion-ion reaction models as compared to a previous approach. The effective in-medium cross section is found to be quite sensitive to the description of Pauli blocking in the final configurations., Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures

We calculate the energy per particle in infinite neutron matter perturbatively using chiral N3LO two-body potentials plus N2LO three-body forces. The cutoff dependence of the predictions is investigated by employing chiral interactions with different regulators. We find that the inclusion of three-nucleon forces, which are consistent with the applied two-nucleon interaction, leads to a strongly reduced regulator dependence of the results., Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, to be published in Physical Review C

We compare nuclear and neutron matter predictions based on two different ab initio approaches to nuclear forces and the nuclear many-body problem. The first consists of a realistic meson-theoretic nucleon-nucleon potential together with the relativistic counterpart of the Brueckner-Hartree-Fock theory of nuclear matter. The second is based on chiral effective field theory, with density-dependent interactions derived from leading order chiral three-nucleon forces. We find the results to be very close and conclude that both approaches contain important features governing the physics of nuclear and neutron matter., Comment: PDFLATEX, 6 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1107.3339, arXiv:1111.0695, arXiv:1002.0146

We investigate the effects of charge independence and charge symmetry breaking in neutron-rich matter. We consider neutron and proton properties in isospin-asymmetric matter at normal densities as well as the high-density neutron matter equation of state and the bulk properties of neutron stars. We find charge symmetry and charge independence breaking effects to be very small., Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures

The symmetry energy contribution to the nuclear Equation of State (EoS) impacts various phenomena in nuclear astrophysics, nuclear structure, and nuclear reactions. Its determination is a key objective of contemporary nuclear physics with consequences for the understanding of dense matter within neutron stars. We examine the results of laboratory experiments that have provided initial constraints on the nuclear symmetry energy and its density dependence at and somewhat below normal nuclear matter density. Some of these constraints have been derived from properties of nuclei. Others have been derived from the nuclear response to electroweak and hadronic probes. We also examine the most frequently used theoretical models that predict the symmetry energy and its slope. By comparing existing constraints on the symmetry pressure to theories, we demonstrate how the contribution of the three-body force, an essential ingredient in neutron matter models, can be determined., Comment: 28 pages, 4 figures

We calculate several neutron star properties, for static and/or rotating stars, using equations of state based on different microscopic models. These include our Dirac-Brueckner-Hartree-Fock model and others derived from the non-relativistic Brueckner-Hartree-Fock approach implemented with microscopic three-body forces. The model dependence is discussed., Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, revtex4

Microscopic studies of nuclear matter under diverse conditions of density and asymmetry are of great contemporary interest. Concerning terrestrial applications, they relate to future experimental facilities that will make it possible to study systems with extreme neutron-to-proton ratio. In this talk, I will review recent efforts of my group aimed at exploring nuclear interactions in the medium through the nuclear equation of state (EoS). The approach we take is microscopic and relativistic, with the predicted EoS properties derived from realistic nucleon-nucleon potentials. I will also discuss work in progress. Most recently, we completed a DBHF calculation of the $\Lambda$ hyperon binding energy in nuclear matter., Comment: Talk given at the International Symposium on Exotic States of Nuclear Matter, Catania (Italy), June 11-15, 2007. 9 pages, 5 figures

The relation between energy and density (known as the nuclear equation of state) plays a major role in a variety of nuclear and astrophysical systems. Spin and isospin asymmetries can have a dramatic impact on the equation of state and possibly alter its stability conditions. An example is the possible manifestation of ferromagnetic instabilities, which would indicate the existence, at a certain density, of a spin-polarized state with lower energy than the unpolarized one. This issue is being discussed extensively in the literature and the conclusions are presently very model dependent. We will report and discuss our recent progress in the study of spin-polarized neutron matter. The approach we take is microscopic and relativistic. The calculated neutron matter properties are derived from realistic nucleon-nucleon interactions. This makes it possible to understand the nature of the EOS properties in terms of specific features of the nuclear force model., Comment: 6 pages, 11 figures, revised/extended calculations

Following a recent work, we present numerical results for total two-nucleon effective cross sections in isospin symmetric and asymmetric matter. The present calculations include the additional effect of Pauli blocking of the final states., Comment: 9 pages, no figures, 5 tables

We calculate nucleon-nucleon cross sections in the nuclear medium with unequal densities of protons and neutrons. We use the Dirac-Brueckner-Hartree-Fock approach together with realistic nucleon-nucleon potentials. We examine the effect of neutron/proton asymmetry and find that, although generally mild, it can be significant in specific regions of the phase space under consideration., Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures

We present the first calculations of proton elastic and inelastic scattering in which the Pauli blocking operator contains the leading non-spherical components as well as the usual spherical (angle-averaged) part. We develop a formalism for including the contributions to the effective nucleon-nucleon interaction from the resulting new G-matrix elements that extend the usual two-nucleon spin structure and may not conserve angular momentum. We explore the consequences of parity conservation, time reversal invariance, and nucleon-nucleon antisymmetrization for the new effective interaction. Changes to the calculated cross section and spin observables are small in the energy range from 100 to 200 MeV., Comment: 24 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Physical Review C

We discuss the one-body potentials for protons and neutrons obtained from Dirac-Brueckner-Hartree-Fock calculations of neutron-rich matter, in particular their dependence upon the degree of proton/neutron asymmetry. The closely related symmetry potential is compared with empirical information from the isovector component of the nuclear optical potential., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures. Minor revisions, added comments, references

Referring to a recently published paper [J. Piekarewicz, Phys. Rev. C 69, 041301 (2004)], we point out that Dirac-Brueckner-Hartree-Fock calculations of the symmetry energy predict values of the neutron skin of heavy nuclei which are remarkably consistent with those from a recent ``best-fit'' analysis., Comment: 2 pages, comment

This paper presents the first calculations of proton inelastic scattering in which the medium effect of Pauli blocking is included through an exact, rather than angle averaged, operator. This improvement is important in the isoscalar channel at proton energies near 100 MeV and fades as the energy rises. However, processes that emphasize finite-range exchange (such as $0^+\to 0^-$ reactions) still see significant effects at 200 MeV. The results depend on the directions of the incident and struck nucleon momenta that produce the most important contributions to the DWBA integral at each scattering angle., Comment: TeX document, 11 pages, 2 figures

A microscopic calculation of the equation of state for asymmetric nuclear matter is presented. We employ realistic nucleon-nucleon forces and operate within the Dirac-Brueckner-Hartree-Fock approach to nuclear matter. The focal point of this paper is a (momentum-space) G-matrix which properly accounts for the asymmetry between protons and neutrons. This will merge naturally into the development of an effective interaction suitable for applications to asymmetric nuclei, which will be the object of extensive study in the future., Comment: revtex, 27 pages, including 13 figures. (Substantial extension.)

We use proton-nucleus reaction data at intermediate energies to test the emerging new generation of chiral nucleon-nucleon (NN) potentials. Predictions from a high quality one-boson-exchange (OBE) force are used for comparison and evaluation. Both the chiral and OBE models fit NN phase shifts accurately, and the differences between the two forces for proton-induced reactions are small. A comparison to a chiral model with a less accurate NN description sets the scale for the ability of such models to work for nuclear reactions., Comment: 6 pages, revtex, 4 eps-figures

We examine the quality of a G-matrix calculation of the effective nucleon-nucleon (NN) interaction for the prediction of the cross section and analyzing power for 200-MeV (p,p') reactions that populate natural parity states in $^{16}$O, $^{28}$Si, and $^{40}$Ca. This calculation is based on a one-boson-exchange model of the free NN force that reproduces NN observables well. The G-matrix includes the effects of Pauli blocking, nuclear binding, and strong relativistic mean-field potentials. The implications of adjustments to the effective mass ansatz to improve the quality of the approximation at momenta above the Fermi level will be discussed, along with the general quality of agreement to a variety of (p,p') transitions., Comment: 36 pages, TeX, 18 figures

For relativistic three-body calculations, essentially two different approaches are in use: field theory and relativistic direct interactions. Results for relativistic corrections of the triton binding energy obtained from the two approaches differ even in their sign, which is rather puzzling. In this paper, we discuss the origin of such discrepancy. We show that the use of an invariant two-body amplitude, as done in the field-theoretic approach, increases the triton binding energy by about 0.30 MeV. This may explain a large part of the discrepancy., Comment: 11 pages, LaTeX, no figures

We calculate the triton binding energy with a non-local NN potential that fits the world NN data below 350 MeV with the almost perfect $\chi^2$/datum of 1.03. The non-locality is derived from relativistic meson field theory. The result obtained in a 34-channel, charge-dependent Faddeev calculation is 8.00 MeV, which is 0.4 MeV above the predictions by local NN potentials. The increase in binding energy can be clearly attributed to the off-shell behavior of the non-local potential. Our result cuts in half the discrepancy between theory and experiment established from local NN potentials. Implications for other areas of microscopic nuclear structure, in which underbinding is a traditional problem, are discussed., Comment: 5 pages, REVTEX, 1 postscript figure, psfig.sty

The influence of relativity on the triton binding energy is investigated. The relativistic three-dimensional version of the Bethe-Salpeter equation proposed by Blankenbecler and Sugar (BbS) is used. Relativistic (non-separable) one-boson-exchange potentials (constructed in the BbS framework) are employed for the two-nucleon interaction. In a 34-channel Faddeev calculation, it is found that relativistic effects increase the triton binding energy by about 0.2 MeV. Including charge-dependence (besides relativity), the final triton binding energy predictions are 8.33 and 8.16 MeV for the Bonn A and B potential, respectively., Comment: 25 pages of text (latex), 1 figure (not included, available upon request)