Short-range correlations in the deuteron: chiral effective field theory, meson-exchange, and phenomenology

TL;DR

This paper compares various modern and traditional nuclear potentials to analyze high-momentum distributions and short-range correlations in the deuteron, assessing their consistency with experimental electron scattering data.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive comparison of chiral effective field theory potentials with conventional interactions for deuteron correlations.

Findings

Modern chiral potentials can reproduce high-momentum distributions.

Discrepancies exist between theoretical predictions and experimental correlation probabilities.

Some traditional interactions align better with experimental data.

Abstract

We study high-momentum distributions and short-range correlation probabilities in the deuteron with a variety of modern potentials based on chiral effective field theory up to fifth order in the chiral expansion. We also consider some conventional (meson-exchange and phenomenological) interactions. We examine our predictions in the context of short-range correlation probabilities as extracted from analyses of inclusive electron scattering data and discuss whether modern interac- tions can be reconciled with the latter.