Calculations of the Triton Binding Energy with a Lorentz Boosted Nucleon-Nucleon Potential

Abstract

We study the binding energy of the three-nucleon system in relativistic models that use two different relativistic treatments of the potential that are phase equivalent to realistic NN interactions. One is based on a unitary scale transformation that relates the non-relativistic center-of-mass Hamiltonian to the relativistic mass (rest energy) operator and the other uses a non-linear equation that relates the interaction in the relativistic mass operator to the non-relativistic interaction. In both cases Lorentz-boosted interactions are used in the relativistic Faddeev equation to solve for the three-nucleon binding energy. Using the same realistic NN potentials as input, the solution of the relativistic three-nucleon Faddeev equation for 3H shows slightly less binding energy than the corresponding nonrelativistic result. The effect of the Wigner spin rotation on the binding is very small.