About this Research Topic
Despite many years of intense research, our understanding of the forces that hold the atomic nucleus together is still far from complete, and numerous crucial questions are still unanswered. As indicated in the scope of the Nuclear Physics Section of Frontiers in Physics, we would like to address questions like "where does the nuclear force which binds nucleons together get its main characteristics, and how is it rooted in the fundamental theory of strong interaction?".
With the present Research Topic, we would like to summarize what has been discovered over the many years of effort in the field, what is still under debate, and in which direction future inquiries should go. We expect to cover the subjects of phenomenological as well as chiral effective field theory based potentials, the role of two- and many-body forces, and discuss few-body systems, where the most accurate tests of the various force-models are conducted. Moreover, our aim is to create a compendium or "reference book" for practitioners who apply a variety of nuclear potentials in their work and wish to learn about their differences in an efficient way.
With the present Research Topic, we would like to summarize what has been discovered over the many years of effort in the field, what is still under debate, and in which direction future inquiries should go. We expect to cover the subjects of phenomenological as well as chiral effective field theory based potentials, the role of two- and many-body forces, and discuss few-body systems, where the most accurate tests of the various force-models are conducted. Moreover, our aim is to create a compendium or "reference book" for practitioners who apply a variety of nuclear potentials in their work and wish to learn about their differences in an efficient way.
Keywords: Two-nucleon interactions, three-nucleon interactions, phenomenological potentials, chiral effective field theory, few-nucleon systems
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
