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Thermal neutron captures on d and 3He.
L Girlanda1, A Kievsky, L E Marcucci
1Department of Physics, University of Pisa, 56127 Pisa, Italy.
Physical Review Letters
|January 15, 2011
Summary
This study on neutron captures (nd and n3He) shows good agreement with experimental data. However, results significantly depend on the chosen nuclear potential and currents, highlighting the importance of theoretical frameworks in nuclear physics.
Area of Science:
- Nuclear Physics
- Quantum Chromodynamics
Background:
- Understanding nuclear forces is crucial for nuclear reactions.
- Chiral effective field theory provides a systematic approach to describe these forces.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate neutron radiative capture reactions on deuterium (nd) and Helium-3 (n3He).
- To compare theoretical predictions using different nuclear potentials and electromagnetic currents.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing the hyperspherical harmonics method for wave function calculations.
- Employing realistic two- and three-nucleon potentials (chiral and conventional).
- Deriving electromagnetic currents within chiral effective field theory up to one loop.
Main Results:
- The study achieved good agreement between predicted and experimental nd and n3He cross sections.
- A significant dependence of the cross sections on the input Hamiltonian was observed.
- Comparison between chiral and conventional frameworks revealed differences in results.
Conclusions:
- Theoretical predictions for nd and n3He radiative captures are sensitive to the underlying nuclear Hamiltonian.
- The study validates the use of chiral effective field theory for describing these nuclear processes.
- Further research is needed to refine nuclear potentials and currents for precise predictions.
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