Nuclear Physics & RIKEN Theory Seminar

Accurate calculations of the structure of light nuclei, starting from "bare"
two-nucleon interactions that fit NN scattering data, have become feasible over the last decade using quantum Monte Carlo methods. Three-nucleon interactions and two-body electroweak current operators are important additional inputs. Properties we can study include binding and excitation energies, relative stability, one- and two-nucleon densities in configuration and momentum space, electromagnetic moments and electroweak transitions. We are also developing the tools for nucleon-nucleus scattering and electroweak capture reactions. In these studies we can see that nuclear structure really does arise from these complicated "bare" nuclear forces.
Finally, we can use these tools to study more speculative issues, such as how nuclear structure evolves with the complexity of the nuclear forces, or how it might differ with changes in fundamental constants.