Conceptual

Large-Momentum Distribution in Nuclei from the Operator Product Expansion

This work uses the operator product expansion, matched to nucleon-nucleon potentials through Pionless effective field theory, to characterize the high-momentum tail of the nucleon momentum distribution in nuclei. Students learn how Wilson coefficients encode short-range physics, how OPE predictions are tested against the deuteron momentum distribution, and how including higher-order EFT potentials and higher-dimension operators systematically improves the separation of short- and long-range nuclear interactions.