Probing the Repulsive Core of the Nucleon-Nucleon Interaction via the 4He(e,epN)^4He(e,e′pN) Triple-Coincidence Reaction

Collaboration
Jan 23, 2014
6 pages
Published in:
  • Phys.Rev.Lett. 113 (2014) 2, 022501
  • Published: Jul 9, 2014
e-Print:
Report number:
  • JLAB-PHY-14-1862

Citations per year

20142017202020232025051015
Abstract: (APS)

We studied simultaneously the He4(e,ep), He4(e,epp), and He4(e,epn) reactions at Q2=2(GeV/c)2 and xB>1, for an (e,ep) missing-momentum range of 400 to 830MeV/c. The knocked-out proton was detected in coincidence with a proton or neutron recoiling almost back to back to the missing momentum, leaving the residual A=2 system at low excitation energy. These data were used to identify two-nucleon short-range correlated pairs and to deduce their isospin structure as a function of missing momentum, in a region where the nucleon-nucleon (NN) force is expected to change from predominantly tensor to repulsive. The abundance of neutron-proton pairs is reduced as the nucleon momentum increases beyond 500MeV/c. The extracted fraction of proton-proton pairs is small and almost independent of the missing momentum. Our data are compared with calculations of two-nucleon momentum distributions in He4 and discussed in the context of probing the elusive repulsive component of the NN force.

Note:
  • 6 pages, 2 figures
  • 21.30.Fe
  • 21.10.-k
  • 21.60.-n
  • 25.30.-c