An application of a new harmonic-oscillator basis to the calculation of trinucleon ground-state observables

Abstract

A new harmonic-oscillator basis for trinucleon ground-state calculations is introduced, featuring different oscillator radii for the two intrinsic variables. This basis allows charge-dependent interactions to be handled and seems to yield a better convergence with respect to the previously used oscillator bases. A test calculation with the Reid soft-core interaction is presented. The resulting (extrapolated) triton binding energy is 7.3 ± 0.2 MeV, and the first minimum in the 3He charge form factor occurs at q 2 = 13.1 fm −2.