A study of nucleon-deuteron elastic scattering in configuration space

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new computational approach using spline decomposition and a generalized Numerov method to solve nucleon-deuteron elastic scattering problems in configuration space, enabling detailed analysis at low energies.

Contribution

The authors develop a novel computational method based on spline decomposition and a generalized Numerov approach for solving nucleon-deuteron scattering equations with arbitrary potentials and partial waves.

Findings

Calculated observables at 3 MeV match experimental data.

Method successfully incorporates Coulomb force in proton-deuteron scattering.

Results are consistent with previous theoretical and experimental studies.

Abstract

A new computational method for solving the nucleon-deuteron breakup scattering problem has been applied to study the elastic neutron- and proton-deuteron scattering on the basis of the configuration-space Faddeev-Noyes-Noble-Merkuriev equations. This method is based on the spline-decomposition in the angular variable and on a generalization of the Numerov method for the hyperradius. The Merkuriev-Gignoux-Laverne approach has been generalized for arbitrary nucleon-nucleon potentials and with an arbitrary number of partial waves. The nucleon-deuteron observables at the incident nucleon energy 3 MeV have been calculated using the charge-independent AV14 nucleon-nucleon potential including the Coulomb force for the proton-deuteron scattering. Results have been compared with those of other authors and with experimental proton-deuteron scattering data.