Renormalization group analysis of electromagnetic properties of the deuteron

TL;DR

This paper uses renormalization group techniques to analyze how electromagnetic radiative corrections affect the deuteron’s charge form factor and neutron-proton radiative capture, revealing they introduce notable uncertainties in nuclear calculations.

Contribution

It applies velocity renormalization group analysis to quantify electromagnetic corrections in deuteron properties and reactions, highlighting their significance in low energy nuclear physics.

Findings

Percent-level shifts in deuteron charge form factor and capture cross section.

Electromagnetic corrections are a non-negligible source of uncertainty.

Renormalization group methods effectively quantify these effects.

Abstract

The role of radiative corrections in low energy nuclear physics is beginning to receive more scrutiny. We examine the impact of these corrections for the deuteron charge form factor and the radiative capture process $np \to d \gamma$ through the velocity renormalization group. In both cases, we find percent level shifts in the relevant observables after evolving the subtraction velocity to the typical velocity of nucleons in the bound state. This suggests that electromagnetic corrections constitute a non-negligible source of uncertainty in existing few-body calculations.