Magnetic structure of few-nucleon systems at high momentum transfers in a $\chi$EFT approach

TL;DR

This paper uses chiral effective field theory to determine electromagnetic properties of few-nucleon systems, fitting low-energy constants to experimental data and predicting form factors up to high momentum transfers with good accuracy.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive fit of LECs in $ ext{chi}$EFT for electromagnetic currents and applies these to predict magnetic form factors of light nuclei beyond the typical validity range.

Findings

Predictions agree with experimental data up to 0.8 GeV/c

Model dependence is mild below 0.8 GeV/c

Chiral expansion convergence is analyzed

Abstract

The five low-energy constants (LECs) in the electromagnetic current derived in chiral effective field theory ($\chi$EFT) up to one loop are determined by a simultaneous fit to the $A\,$=$\,2$--3 nuclei magnetic moments and to the deuteron magnetic form factor and threshold electrodisintegration at backward angles over a wide range of momentum transfers. The resulting parametrization then yields predictions for the $^3$He/$^3$H magnetic form factors in excellent accord with the experimental values for momentum transfers ranging up to $\approx 0.8$ GeV/c, beyond the expected regime of validity of the $\chi$EFT approach. The calculations are based on last-generation two-nucleon interactions including high orders in the chiral expansion and derived by Entem, Macheleidt, and Nosyk [Phys.\ Rev.\ C {\bf 96}, 024004 (2017)] and by Piarulli {\it et al.} [Phys.\ Rev.\ C {\bf 94}, 054007 (2016)], using different $\chi$EFT formulations. In the $A\,$=$\,3$ calculations, (chiral) three-nucleon interactions are also accounted for. The model dependence resulting from these different formulations of the interactions is found to be mild for momentum transfer below $\approx0.8$ GeV/c. An analysis of the convergence of the chiral expansion is also provided.