Pairing and Short-Range Correlations in Nuclear Systems

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Physics
• Astrophysical Phenomena
• Quantum Many-Body Systems

Background:

• The pairing gap in infinite nuclear matter is crucial for understanding astrophysical phenomena and nuclear structure.
• Short-range correlations (SRCs) are known to deplete single-particle strength near the Fermi surface.
• The impact of SRCs on the pairing gap requires detailed investigation across different matter types and spin channels.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of short-range correlations (SRCs) on the pairing gap in infinite neutron and symmetric nuclear matter.
• To analyze this effect in both singlet and triplet spin channels.
• To quantify the reduction in the pairing gap attributable to SRCs.

Main Methods:

• Utilized phase-shift equivalent interactions as a basis for calculations.
• Employed chiral two-body and three-body interactions.
• Performed calculations for neutron matter and symmetric nuclear matter in singlet and triplet channels.

Main Results:

• Observed an unambiguous reduction of the pairing gap in all studied channels.
• Found minimal dependence on the nucleon-nucleon (NN) force in singlet neutron matter and triplet nuclear matter channels.
• Demonstrated that SRCs alone account for a 50% reduction in the pairing gap for triplet nuclear matter.

Conclusions:

• Short-range correlations play a significant role in reducing the pairing gap in nuclear matter.
• The reduction is substantial and largely independent of the specific NN interaction in certain channels.
• These findings have implications for nuclear structure and astrophysical processes sensitive to pairing properties.