Elastic Antiproton-Nucleus Scattering from Chiral Forces.

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Physics
• Particle Physics

Background:

• Antiproton scattering experiments provide insights into nuclear structure and interactions.
• Microscopic models are crucial for understanding complex nuclear systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe antiproton scattering off Helium-4, Carbon-12, and Oxygen-16,18 using a consistent microscopic approach.
• To investigate the convergence of the antiproton-nucleon chiral interaction in nuclear scattering.

Main Methods:

• Calculation of an optical potential (OP) for antiproton-nucleus interactions.
• Derivation of the antiproton-nucleon (p-bar N) t matrix using recent chiral interactions.
• Computation of target densities with the ab initio no-core shell model and chiral interactions.

Main Results:

• The study provides the first microscopic description of antiproton elastic scattering for ^{4}He, ^{12}C, and ^{16,18}O.
• Results show good agreement with existing experimental data.
• Calculations at different chiral orders of the p-bar N interaction exhibit a clear convergence pattern.

Conclusions:

• The developed microscopic approach consistently describes antiproton scattering data.
• The findings validate the use of chiral effective field theory interactions in antiproton-nucleus scattering.
• The convergence pattern suggests the reliability of the theoretical framework for future studies.