Electron Scattering off 4He with Three-Nucleon Forces

TL;DR

This paper presents an ab-initio calculation of the 4He(e,e') response function incorporating realistic two- and three-nucleon forces, revealing significant effects of three-nucleon forces at various momentum transfers.

Contribution

It introduces a rigorous four-body continuum calculation including three-nucleon forces, improving understanding of their impact on electron scattering responses.

Findings

Three-nucleon force reduces the quasi-elastic peak by about 10% at q=300-500 MeV/c

The reduction increases to about 40% at q=100 MeV/c

Experimental data align with predictions but lack precision to confirm the effect

Abstract

An ab-initio calculation of the 4He(e,e') inelastic longitudinal response function R_L is presented. Realistic two- and three-body forces are used. The four-body continuum dynamics is treated rigorously with the help of the Lorentz integral transform. The three-nucleon force reduces the quasi-elastic peak height by about 10% for momentum transfers q between 300 and 500 MeV/c. Experimental data are well described, but not sufficiently precise to resolve this effect. The reduction due to the three-nucleon force increases significantly at lower q reaching up to about 40% at q=100 MeV/c. However, at such q values data are missing.