The ²H Electric Dipole Moment in a Separable Potential Approach

B.F. Gibson^1a and I.R. Afnan²

¹ Los Alamos National Laboratory, Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
² Flinders University, School of Chemistry, Physics, and Earth Sciences, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, Australia

^a e-mail: bfgibson@lanl.gov

Published online: 12 April 2010

Abstract

Measurement of the electric dipole moment (EDM) of ²H or of ³He may well come prior to the coveted measurement of the neutron EDM. Exact model calculations for the deuteron are feasible, and we explore here the model dependence of such deuteron EDM calculations. We investigate in a separable potential approach the relationship of the full model calculation to the plane wave approximation, correct an error in an early potential model result, and examine the tensor force aspects of the model results as well as the effect of the short range repulsion found in the realistic, contemporary potential model calculations of Liu and Timmermans. We conclude that, because one-pion exchange dominates the EDM calculation, separable potential model calculations should provide an adequate picture of the ²H EDM until better than 10% measurements are achieved.