Erratum: Proton-Proton Weak Capture in Chiral Effective Field Theory [Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 192503 (2013)].

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.192503.

Erratum: Chiral Effective Field Theory Predictions for Muon Capture on Deuteron and

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.052502.

Light-Nuclei Spectra from Chiral Dynamics.

In recent years local chiral interactions have been derived and implemented in quantum Monte Carlo methods in order to test to what extent the chiral effective field theory framework impacts our knowledge of few- and many-body systems. In this Letter, we present Green's function Monte Carlo calculations of light nuclei based on the family of local two-body interactions presented by our group in a previous paper in conjunction with chiral three-body interactions fitted to bound- and scattering-state observables in the three-nucleon sector. These interactions include Δ intermediate states in their two-pion-exchange components. We obtain predictions for the energy levels and level ordering of nuclei in the mass range A=4-12, accurate to ≤2% of the binding energy, in very satisfactory agreement with experimental data.

Electromagnetic Response of

The longitudinal and transverse electromagnetic response functions of ^{12}C are computed in a "first-principles" Green's function Monte Carlo calculation, based on realistic two- and three-nucleon interactions and associated one- and two-body currents. We find excellent agreement between theory and experiment and, in particular, no evidence for the quenching of the measured versus calculated longitudinal response. This is further corroborated by a reanalysis of the Coulomb sum rule, in which the contributions from the low-lying J^{π}=2^{+}, 0_{2}^{+} (Hoyle), and 4^{+} states in ^{12}C are accounted for explicitly in evaluating the total inelastic strength.

Neutral weak current two-body contributions in inclusive scattering from 12C.

An ab initio calculation of the sum rules of the neutral weak response functions in 12C is reported, based on a realistic Hamiltonian, including two- and three-nucleon potentials, and on realistic currents, consisting of one- and two-body terms. We find that the sum rules of the response functions associated with the longitudinal and transverse components of the (spacelike) neutral current are largest and that a significant portion (≃30%) of the calculated strength is due to two-body terms. This fact may have implications for the MiniBooNE and other neutrino quasielastic scattering data on nuclei.

Charge form factor and sum rules of electromagnetic response functions in 12C.

An ab initio calculation of the 12C elastic form factor and sum rules of longitudinal and transverse response functions measured in inclusive (e, e') scattering are reported, based on realistic nuclear potentials and electromagnetic currents. The longitudinal elastic form factor and sum rule are found to be in satisfactory agreement with available experimental data. A direct comparison between theory and experiment is difficult for the transverse sum rule. However, it is shown that the calculated transverse sum rule has large contributions from two-body currents, indicating that these mechanisms lead to a significant enhancement of the quasielastic transverse response. This fact may have implications for the anomaly observed in recent neutrino quasielastic charge-changing scattering experiments on 12C.

Proton-proton weak capture in chiral effective field theory.

The astrophysical S factor for proton-proton weak capture is calculated in chiral effective field theory over the center-of-mass relative-energy range 0-100 keV. The chiral two-nucleon potential derived up to next-to-next-to-next-to leading order is augmented by the full electromagnetic interaction including, beyond Coulomb, two-photon and vacuum-polarization corrections. The low-energy constants entering the weak current operators are fixed so as to reproduce the A=3 binding energies and magnetic moments and the Gamow-Teller matrix element in tritium ß decay. Contributions from S and P partial waves in the incoming two-proton channel are retained. The S factor at zero energy is found to be S(0)=(4.030±0.006)×10(-23) MeV fm(2), with a P-wave contribution of 0.020×10(-23) MeV fm(2). The theoretical uncertainty is due to the fitting procedure of the low-energy constants and to the cutoff dependence.

Chiral effective field theory predictions for muon capture on deuteron and {3}He.

The muon-capture reactions {2}H(µ{-},ν{µ})nn and {3}He(µ{-},ν{µ}){3}H are studied with nuclear potentials and charge-changing weak currents, derived in chiral effective field theory. The low-energy constants (LECs) c{D} and c{E}, present in the three-nucleon potential and (c{D}) axial-vector current, are constrained to reproduce the A=3 binding energies and the triton Gamow-Teller matrix element. The muon-capture rates on deuteron and {3}He are predicted to be 399±3 sec{-1} and 1494±21 sec{-1}, respectively. The spread accounts for the cutoff sensitivity, as well as uncertainties in the LECs and electroweak radiative corrections. By comparing the calculated and precisely measured rates on {3}He, a value for the induced pseudoscalar form factor is obtained in good agreement with the chiral perturbation theory prediction.

Thermal neutron captures on d and 3He.

We report on a study of the nd and n(3)He radiative captures at thermal neutron energies, using wave functions obtained from either chiral or conventional two- and three-nucleon realistic potentials with the hyperspherical-harmonics method, and electromagnetic currents derived in chiral effective field theory up to one loop. The predicted nd and n(3)He cross sections are in good agreement with data, but exhibit a significant dependence on the input Hamiltonian. A comparison is also made between these and new results for the nd and n(3)He cross sections obtained in the conventional framework for both potentials and currents.

Isospin mixing in the nucleon and 4He and the nucleon strange electric form factor.

In order to isolate the contribution of the nucleon strange electric form factor to the parity-violating asymmetry measured in 4He(e-->],e')4He experiments, it is crucial to have a reliable estimate of the magnitude of isospin-symmetry-breaking (ISB) corrections in both the nucleon and 4He. We examine this issue in the present Letter. Isospin admixtures in the nucleon are determined in chiral perturbation theory, while those in 4He are derived from nuclear interactions, including explicit ISB terms. A careful analysis of the model dependence in the resulting predictions for the nucleon and nuclear ISB contributions to the asymmetry is carried out. We conclude that, at the low momentum transfers of interest in recent measurements reported by the HAPPEX Collaboration at Jefferson Lab, these contributions are of comparable magnitude to those associated with strangeness components in the nucleon electric form factor.

Tensor forces and the ground-state structure of nuclei.

Two-nucleon momentum distributions are calculated for the ground states of nuclei with mass number A< or =8, using variational Monte Carlo wave functions derived from a realistic Hamiltonian with two- and three-nucleon potentials. The momentum distribution of np pairs is found to be much larger than that of pp pairs for values of the relative momentum in the range (300-600) MeV/c and vanishing total momentum. This order of magnitude difference is seen in all nuclei considered and has a universal character originating from the tensor components present in any realistic nucleon-nucleon potential. The correlations induced by the tensor force strongly influence the structure of np pairs, which are predominantly in deuteronlike states, while they are ineffective for pp pairs, which are mostly in 1S0 states. These features should be easily observable in two-nucleon knockout processes, such as A(e,e'np) and A(e,e'pp).

Polarization transfer in 4He(e-->,e'p-->)3H: is the ratio G E p/G M p ) modified in the nuclear medium?

Polarization observables in the (4)He(e-->,e'p-->)(3)H reaction are calculated using accurate three- and four-nucleon bound-state wave functions, a realistic model for the nuclear electromagnetic current operator, and a treatment of final-state interactions with an optical potential. In contrast to earlier studies, no significant discrepancies are found between theory and experiment both for the ratio of transverse to longitudinal polarization transfers and for the induced polarization, when free-nucleon electromagnetic form factors are used in the current operator. The present results challenge the current interpretation of the experimental data in terms of medium-modified form factors.

Parity-violating electron deuteron scattering and the proton's neutral weak axial vector form factor.

We report on a new measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry in quasielastic electron scattering from the deuteron at backward angles at Q2=0.038 (GeV/c)2. This quantity provides a determination of the neutral weak axial vector form factor of the nucleon, which can potentially receive large electroweak corrections. The measured asymmetry A=-3.51+/-0.57 (stat)+/-0.58 (syst) ppm is consistent with theoretical predictions. We also report on updated results of the previous experiment at Q2=0.091 (GeV/c)2, which are also consistent with theoretical predictions.

Realistic calculation of the 3He + p (hep) astrophysical factor.

The astrophysical factor for the proton weak capture on 3He is calculated with correlated hyperspherical harmonic wave functions corresponding to a realistic Hamiltonian consisting of the Argonne v(18) two-nucleon and Urbana-IX three-nucleon interactions. The nuclear weak current has vector and axial-vector components with one- and many-body terms. All possible transitions connecting any of the p 3He S- and P-wave channels to 4He are considered. The S factor at a p 3He center-of-mass energy of 10 keV is predicted to be 10. 1x10(-20) keV b, a factor of approximately 4.5 larger than the value adopted in the standard solar model. The P-wave transitions are found to contribute about 40% of the calculated S factor.