We solve three-nucleon Faddeev equations with nucleon-nucleon and three-nucleon forces derived consistently in the framework of chiral perturbation theory at next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order in the chiral expansion. In this first investigation w
e include only matrix elements of the three-nucleon force for partial waves with the total two-nucleon (three-nucleon) angular momenta up to 3 (5/2). Low-energy neutron-deuteron elastic scattering and deuteron breakup reaction are studied. Emphasis is put on Ay puzzle in elastic scattering and cross sections in symmetric-space-star and neutron-neutron quasi-free-scattering breakup configurations, for which large discrepancies between data and theory have been reported.
We investigate how strong a hypothetical 1S0 bound state of two neutrons would affect different observables in the neutron-deuteron reactions. To that aim we extend our momentum space scheme of solving three-nucleon Faddeev equations to incorporate i
n addition to the deuteron also the 1S0 dineutron bound state. We discuss effects induced by dineutron on the angular distribution of the neutron-deuteron elastic scattering and cross sections of the deuteron breakup. A comparison to the available data for neutron-deuteron total cross sections and elastic scattering angular distributions cannot decisively exclude a possibility that the two neutrons can form 1S0 bound state. However, the strong modifications of a final-state-interaction peak of the neutron-deuteron breakup when changing from negative to positive values of the neutron-neutron scattering length seems to exclude existence of dineutron.
We extend our approach to incorporate the proton-proton (pp) Coulomb force into the three-nucleon (3N) momentum-space Faddeev calculations of elastic proton-deuteron (pd) scattering and breakup to the case when also a three-nucleon force (3NF) is act
ing. In addition we formulate that approach in the application to electron- and gamma-induced reactions on 3He. The main new ingredient is a 3-dimensional screened pp Coulomb t-matrix obtained by a numerical solution of a 3-dimensional Lippmann-Schwinger equation (LSE). The resulting equations have the same structure as the Faddeev equations which describe pd scattering without 3NF acting. That shows the practical feasibility of both presented formulations.
Large discrepancies between quasi-free neutron-neutron (nn) cross section data from neutron-deuteron (nd) breakup and theoretical predictions based on standard nucleon-nucleon (NN) and three-nucleon (3N) forces are pointed out. The nn 1S0 interaction
is shown to be dominant in that configuration and has to be increase to bring theory and data into agreement. Using the next-to-leading order (NLO) 1S0 interaction of chiral perturbation theory (chiPT) we demonstrate that the nn QFS cross section only slightly depends on changes of the nn scattering length but is very sensitive to variations of the effective range parameter. In order to account for the reported discrepancies one must decrease the nn effective range parameter by about 12 % from its value implied by 19charge symmetry and charge independence of nuclear forces.
The six-nucleon problem for the bound state is formulated in the Yakubovsky scheme. Hints for a numerical implementation are provided.
A recently developed formulation for a direct treatment of the equations for two- and three-nucleon bound states as set of coupled equations of scalar functions depending only on vector momenta is extended to three-nucleon scattering. Starting from t
he spin-momentum dependence occurring as scalar products in two- and three-nucleon forces together with other scalar functions, we present the Faddeev multiple scattering series in which order by order the spin-degrees can be treated analytically leading to 3D integrations over scalar functions depending on momentum vectors only. Such formulation is especially important in view of awaiting extension of 3N Faddeev calculations to projectile energies above the pion production threshold and applications of chiral perturbation theory 3N forces, which are to be most efficiently treated directly in such three-dimensional formulation without having to expand these forces into a partial wave basis.
