Effect of tensor correlations on the density dependence of the nuclear symmetry energy

Abstract

We analyze the effect of the tensor force and other components of the nucleon-nucleon interaction on the nuclear symmetry energy and its density dependence by using the Hellmann-Feynman theorem. The analysis is performed within the microscopic Brueckner-Hartree-Fock approach using the Argonne V18 potential plus a Urbana IX three-nucleon force. Our results show that the potential part of the nuclear Hamiltonian, and in particular its tensor component, gives the largest contribution to the symmetry energy. The decomposition of the symmetry energy into a kinetic part and a potential energy part provides physical insight on the correlated nature of the system, indicating that pure neutron matter is less correlated than symmetric nuclear matter.