Nuclear Forces and Their Impact on Neutron-Rich Nuclei and Neutron-Rich Matter

Abstract

We review the impact of nuclear forces on matter at neutron-rich extremes. Recent results have shown that neutron-rich nuclei become increasingly sensitive to three-nucleon forces, which are at the forefront of theoretical developments based on effective field theories of quantum chromodynamics. These developments include the formation of shell structure, the spectroscopy of exotic nuclei, and the location of the neutron drip line. Nuclear forces also constrain the properties of neutron-rich matter, including the neutron skin, the symmetry energy, and the structure of neutron stars. First, we review our understanding of three-nucleon forces and show how chiral effective field theory makes unique predictions for many-body forces. Then, we survey results with three-nucleon forces in neutron-rich oxygen and calcium isotopes and neutron-rich matter, which have been explored with a range of many-body methods. Three-nucleon forces therefore provide an exciting link between theoretical, experimental, and observational nuclear physics frontiers.