Coulomb-free 1S0p − p scattering length from the quasi-free p + d → p + p + n reaction and its relation to universality

Abstract

The Coulomb-free 1S0 proton-proton (p-p) scattering length relies heavily on numerous and distinct theoretical techniques to remove the Coulomb contribution. Here, it has been determined from the half-off-the-energy-shell p-p scattering cross section measured at center-of-mass energies below 1 MeV using the quasi-free p + d → p + p + n reaction. A Bayesian data-fitting approach using the expression of the s-wave nucleon-nucleon scattering cross section returned a p-p scattering length {a}_{pp}=-18.1{7}_{-0.58}^{+0.52}{| }_{stat}pm 0.0{1}_{syst} fm and effective range r0 = 2.80 ± 0.05stat ± 0.001syst fm. A model based on universality concepts has been developed to interpret this result. It accounts for the short-range interaction as a whole, nuclear and residual electromagnetic, according to what the s-wave phase-shift δ does in the description of low-energy nucleon-nucleon scattering data. We conclude that our parameters are representative of the short-range physics and propose to assess the charge symmetry breaking of the short-range interaction instead of just the nuclear interaction. This is consistent with the current understanding that the charge dependence of nuclear forces is due to different masses of up-down quarks and their electromagnetic interactions. This achievement suggests that these properties have a lesser than expected impact in the context of the charge symmetry breaking.