Short range correlations and the isospin dependence of nuclear correlation functions

• Main Authors: R. Cruz-Torres, A. Schmidt, G.A. Miller, L.B. Weinstein, N. Barnea, R. Weiss, E. Piasetzky, O. Hen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2018-10-01
• Series: Physics Letters B
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0370269318306609

Pair densities and associated correlation functions provide a critical tool for introducing many-body correlations into a wide-range of effective theories. Ab initio calculations show that two-nucleon pair-densities exhibit strong spin and isospin dependence. However, such calculations are not available for all nuclei of current interest. We therefore provide a simple model, which involves combining the short and long separation distance behavior using a single blending function, to accurately describe the two-nucleon correlations inherent in existing ab initio calculations. We show that the salient features of the correlation function arise from the features of the two-body short-range nuclear interaction, and that the suppression of the pp and nn pair-densities caused by the Pauli principle is important. Our procedure for obtaining pair-density functions and correlation functions can be applied to heavy nuclei which lack ab initio calculations. Keywords: Correlation function, Contact formalism, Short range correlations