On the effectiveness of effective field theory in peripheral nucleon-nucleon scattering

Michael C. Birse, Judith A. McGovern

Published 2003-07-11, updated 2004-09-24Version 4

Peripheral nucleon-nucleon scattering is analysed in the framework of an effective field theory. Distorted-wave methods are used to remove the effects of one-pion exchange. Two-pion exchange and recoil corrections to one-pion exchange are then subtracted pertubatively. This removes all contributions up to order Q^3 in the chiral expansion. We have applied this to the 1D2, 1F3 and 1G4 waves, using phase shifts from various partial-wave analyses by the Nijmegen group. In regions where these analyses agree we find no evidence for a breakdown of the chiral expansion. One of the terms in the effective short-range potential, the leading one in the 1D2 channel, is larger might be expected, but in general these terms have momentum scales of about 300-400 MeV. We also see hints of isospin breaking in the pi-N couplings.