UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ

FYSS3300: Lecture 5
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Nucleon-Nucleon Interaction

n We already have seen some properties of the nuclear force

– Predominantly attractive
– Strong (relative to Coulomb)
– Short range
– Range less than dimensions of typical nuclei
– Force saturates
– Repulsive at short distances
n What else can we learn?
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Mirror Nuclei
Same A;
N and Z
interchanged

n 27Al
and 27Si mirror nuclei, 27Mg shown for contrast
n Level schemes remarkably similar
n Suggests p-p and n-n interactions equal (charge symmetric)
n What about the difference in binding?
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Mirror Nuclei

n What can we say about p-n?

n Compare 26Mg, 26Al, 26Si

n Suggests p-p, n-n, n-p all same (charge independence)

n Can we learn more from simplest n-p system?
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Deuteron Binding Energy

n Deuteron binding energy can be measured in many ways
n Direct mass measurement in Penning Trap (e.g. JYFLTRAP)
n m(2H) = 2.0141017778u (actually deuterium)

B = "#m( 1H ) + mn − m( 2 H )$% c 2
n B=2.224564 MeV
n Can measure this by nuclear reaction:
1
H + n → 2H +γ
n Binding energy equal to photon energy with small recoil
correction 2.224589 MeV
n More weakly bound than many nuclei (8 MeV/nucleon)

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Deuteron Binding Energy

Deuteron very weakly bound:
If N-N force slightly weaker, it
would not exist.

Would mean no energy

production in stars (pp cycle of
fusion) or production of heavier
elements from primordial
hydrogen.

Good that we are here to see it!

Above can be estimated using a central force and a

square well – electron scattering gives r~2.1fm,
which allows the depth of the well to be deduced
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Deuteron Wave Function

Wave function extends out over long range – huge object

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Deuteron Spin and Parity

n Total angular momentum has 3 components:
– Spins of proton and neutron
– Relative orbital angular momentum about centre of mass
   
I = s p + sn + l

n Measured spin is I=1 (eg from optical spectroscopy)

n Possibilities:
– sn and sp parallel with l=0
– sn and sp antiparallel with l=1
– sn and sp parallel with l=1
– sn and sp parallel with l=2 (why cannot we have l=3?)
n Parity exp. measured to be even ( remember π=(-1)l )
n Only l=0 and l=2
n N.B. – general result for central potential – lowest state has l=0
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Deuteron Magnetic Dipole Moment

n If l=0 correct, no orbital contribution to moment

µ = µn + µ p
gsn µ N gspµ N
= sn + sp
 
n gsn = −3.826084 and gsp = 5.585691
n Take observed mag. moment to be z component of μ when spins
have max. value (+1/2hbar):
1
µ = µ N ( gsn + gsp ) = 0.879804µ N
2
n Observed value 0.8574376
n Good agreement, but why the discrepancy?

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Deuteron Electric Quadrupole Moment

n Bare neutron and proton have Q=0
n A measured Q different from zero must be due to orbital motion
n Pure l=0 is spherically symmetric, should have Q=0
n Measured value is Q=0.00288±0.00002 b
n Again, this is evidence for a d-state admixture in the wave
function

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Bound Nuclei

No 2He (di-proton)

No 2n (di-neutron)

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Two-Nucleon System

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Nucleon-Nucleon Force
n So, what does this tell us about the nucleon-nucleon force?
– To lowest order an attractive central potential
– Short range
– Saturates
– Charge symmetric (excluding Coulomb part)
– Spin dependent – no bound state I=0 for deuteron
• I=1 coupling stronger than I=0 for deuteron
– Includes a non-central term, a tensor component (i.e. V(r) rather than V(r))
– Charge Independent (pp ~ nn ~ np)
– Becomes repulsive at short distances
– Favours coupling of pairs of identical nucleons to 0+
– Strong in comparison to other forces, only just strong enough to overcome
relative kinetic energies of two nucleons

n An extremely complicated interaction!

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Energy (MeV)
A complex many-body
940 quantum system
neutron mass

140
pion mass

8 Resolution
proton separation
energy in lead

1.12
vibrational state in tin

0.043
rotational state in
uranium
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Nuclear theory
https://www.jyu.fi/science/en/physics/research/nuclear-and-accelerator-based-physics/fidipro-project

Objectives: ”searching for a universal description

of nuclear properties far from stability”

Example: scattering data vs.

mean field theory
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Useful and important concepts (nucleon-nucleon force)

• Nuclear charge density ~constant

- no congregation at the centre
- #nucleons/unit volume ~constant
- like an incompressible drop of fluid!
Average binding energy/nucleon

• ~ Saturation of binding energy/nucleon

~8 MeV/A
- nuclear force cannot extend to
all nucleons, otherwise BE/A
increases as A
- each nucleon sees binding
effects from nearest neighbours
- from constant density,
neighbour is ~1 fm
Mass number A 16
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• Nucleon-nucleon force (strong interaction)

is short range (<2 fm)
- recall Rutherford scattering breaks
down!

Protons
Neutrons

Additional Coulomb
potential for protons;
depth of ”well” smaller

Roughly constant density inside
”hard” repulsive core at short
distances < ~0.5 fm
• Attractive force
- we have bound nuclei!
• Hard core
- nuclear matter does not collapse
• Concept of mean field
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• Repulsive force at short distances (<0.5 fm)

- derives from a study of pp and pn
scattering
- more fundamentally: range matches
with π-meson wavelength V0

~2 fm
• Charge symmetric and independent
- similarity of level schemes in mirror nuclei
- proton, neutron – who cares?
- pp ~nn ~np (nuclear force is charge symmetric)
- concept of isospin

• Spin dependent
- deuteron
- np force greater in S=1
state, forms deuteron
- hence spin dependence

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Discrepancies: binding energy per nucleon

N=28 Z=28
N=50

Z=50 helium
N=82

N=126
Z=82

deuteron

Lighter N=Z nuclei

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Deviations between the SEMF and experimental data

Isotopic masses connected by lines

50
28

82 126

• Irregularities seen at the so-called ”magic numbers”

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Insights from the atomic shell model

• Fill shells with electrons, consistent with Pauli principle
• Results in an inert core with valence electrons
• Model assumes atomic properties determined mainly by
valence electrons (periodic table)

• Smooth variations of atomic properties within a subshell

• Dramatic changes when we fill one subshell and enter the next
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Ionization energy of atoms Krane; Fig. 5.1 (bottom)

He Ne Ar Kr Xe Rn
2 10 18 36 54 86

Q. What is the nuclear counterpart to atomic ionization energies?

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A nuclear counterpart to ionization potentials

Sn(N,Z) = B(N,Z)-
B(N-1,Z)

• Maxima in Sn

Sp(N,Z) = B(N,Z)-B(N,Z-1)

• Sharp drops in Sp at start of each new shell

• Note the drops in Sp towards the limit Sp=0

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Two nucleon separation energies S2n

Structure change!

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Additional shell structure evidence:

Excited level energies

• The first 2+ excited level

energies as well as ratios
of E(4+)/E(2+) show striking
indications of shell structure.

• These energies also provide

quantitative information for
nuclear structure (see later)

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Additional shell structure evidence 2:

Rn isotopes
• Energies of α particles emitted
212Rn by isotopes of Rn
• Sudden increase when daughter
has N=126 – (parent has N=128)
• 212Rn (N=126) is more tightly
bound, thus the α particle carries
away more energy

• Reaction rates on nuclei with

magic numbers are reluctant to
capture neutrons.

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Summary

n When plotting systematic trends of a range of nuclear properties,

we observe discontinuities in otherwise rather smooth behaviour
n Evidence for “Shell Structure” in atomic nuclei
n Consistently at numbers 2, 8, 20, 28, 50, 82 and also 126 for
neutrons
n Can we build a model to explain these “Magic Numbers”?
n Next lecture!