Chiral effective lagrangian description of bulk nuclear matter

Abstract

Here we point out that the four-nucleon terms incorporate into lowest order non-linear chiral effective Lagrangians the same description of bulk nuclear matter contained in the Walecka model, that is generally considered satisfactory. We find this point worth noticing because, while the Walecka model is an entirely phenomenological renormalizable model, non-linear chiral Lagrangians have a deep basis in elementary particle physics, and, in this sense, are more fundamental.