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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Reed, Brendan T., Salinas, Marc
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.00274
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author Reed, Brendan T.
Salinas, Marc
author_facet Reed, Brendan T.
Salinas, Marc
contents The role of the isovector spin-orbit potential in nuclear modeling has recently been explored in greater detail due largely in part to the PREX and CREX parity violating electron scattering (PVES) experiments. The result of both experiments have shown that the neutron-rich skins of $^{48}$Ca and $^{208}$Pb, as determined by the experimental analysis, are largely incompatible with current nuclear model predictions. One way to address, and potentially solve, this incompatibility has been to enhance the isovector spin-orbit sector of density functional models. Here, we explore the range of possible enhancements in the context of covariant density functional theory by introducing a new class of spin-2 \textit{massive} mesons to the Lagrangian. In doing so, we find that these mesons not only meaningfully contribute to the theory, but also mitigate problems seen in other works which enhance spin-orbit effects in finite nuclei. We also discuss the implications and future regarding this ``dilemma'' as it pertains to studies of nuclear forces and future experiments such as the Mainz Radius Experiment (MREX).
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_00274
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Spin-2 Mesons in a Relativistic Hartree Description of Nuclei
Reed, Brendan T.
Salinas, Marc
Nuclear Theory
The role of the isovector spin-orbit potential in nuclear modeling has recently been explored in greater detail due largely in part to the PREX and CREX parity violating electron scattering (PVES) experiments. The result of both experiments have shown that the neutron-rich skins of $^{48}$Ca and $^{208}$Pb, as determined by the experimental analysis, are largely incompatible with current nuclear model predictions. One way to address, and potentially solve, this incompatibility has been to enhance the isovector spin-orbit sector of density functional models. Here, we explore the range of possible enhancements in the context of covariant density functional theory by introducing a new class of spin-2 \textit{massive} mesons to the Lagrangian. In doing so, we find that these mesons not only meaningfully contribute to the theory, but also mitigate problems seen in other works which enhance spin-orbit effects in finite nuclei. We also discuss the implications and future regarding this ``dilemma'' as it pertains to studies of nuclear forces and future experiments such as the Mainz Radius Experiment (MREX).
title Spin-2 Mesons in a Relativistic Hartree Description of Nuclei
topic Nuclear Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.00274