Effects of tensor forces in nuclei

Abstract

Recent studies of nuclei far from the stability line have revealed drastic changes in nuclear orbitals and reported the appearance of new magic numbers and the disappearance of magic numbers observed at the stability line. One of the important reasons for such changes is considered to be because of the effect of tensor forces on nuclear structure. Although the role of tensor forces in binding very light nuclei such as deuterons and 4He has been known, direct experimental evidence for the effect on nuclear structure is scarce. In this paper, I review known effects of tensor forces in nuclei and then discuss the recently raised question of s-p wave mixing in a halo nucleus of 11Li. Following these reviews, the development of a new experiment to see the high-momentum components due to the tensor forces is discussed and some of the new data are presented. © 2013 The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.