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The chiral perturbation theory (ChPT) of pions is extended to include vector mesons as well as pertinent degrees of freedom. By counting the typical momentum scale of vector mesons as order of $Q$ and vector meson masses as of the order of $\Lambda_\chi$, a consistent theory could be obtained. The explicit renormalization procedure of the theory is presented for the form factors of the pion up to one-loop accuracy. The resulting theory prediction for the form factors is in good agreement with the experimental data for a wide range of momentum transfers. The vector-meson dominance mechanism is also discussed in the systematic framework of ChPT.

The elastic p-12C scattering at low energies is studied by using a cluster effective field theory (EFT), where the low-lying resonance states (s1/2, p3/2, d5/2) of 13N are treated as pertinent degrees of freedom. The low-energy constants of the Lagrangian are expressed in terms of the Coulomb-modified effective range parameters, which are determined to reproduce the experimental data for the differential cross-sections. The resulting theoretical predictions agree very well with the experimental data. The resulting theory is shown to give us almost identical phase shifts as obtained from the R-matrix approach. The role of the ground state of 13N below the threshold and the next-to-leading order in the EFT power counting are also discussed., Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures

We estimate the Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) constraint on the majoron in the mass range between $1\,{\rm MeV}$ to $10\,{\rm GeV}$ which dominantly decays into the standard model neutrinos. When the majoron lifetime is shorter than $1\,{\rm sec}$, the injected neutrinos mainly heat up background plasma, which alters the relation between photon temperature and background neutrino temperature. For a lifetime longer than $1\,{\rm sec}$, most of the injected neutrinos directly contribute to the protons-to-neutrons conversion. In both cases, deuterium and helium abundances are enhanced, while the constraint from the deuterium is stronger than that from the helium. $^7{\rm Li}$ abundance gets decreased as a consequence of additional neutrons, but the parameter range that fits the observed $^7{\rm Li}$ abundance is excluded by the deuterium constraint. We also estimate other cosmological constraints and compare them with the BBN bound., Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, v2: major revision made by including correct n/p conversion induced by modified thermal neutrinos, slight changes in the result, references added, version accepted in PRD

The inclusion of nucleonic exchange energy has been a long-standing challenge for the relativistic density functional theory (RDFT) in nuclear physics. We propose an orbital-dependent relativistic Kohn-Sham density functional theory to incorporate the exchange energy with local Lorentz scalar and vector potentials. The relativistic optimized effective potential equations for the local exchange potentials are derived and solved efficiently. The obtained binding energies and charge radii for nuclei are benchmarked with the results given by the traditional relativistic Hartree-Fock approach, which involves complicated nonlocal potentials. It demonstrates that the present framework is not only accurate but also efficient., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

Post-neutron emission fission product mass distributions are calculated by using pre-neutron emission fission product yields (FPYs) and neutron multiplicity. A semi-empirical model is used to calculate the pre-neutron FPY, first. Then the neutron multiplicity for each fission fragment mass is used to convert the pre-neutron FPY to the post-neutron FPY. In doing so, assumptions are made for the probability for a pre-emission fission fragment with a mass number $A^*$ to decay to a post-emission fragment with a mass number $A$. The resulting post-neutron FPYs are compared with the data available. The systems where the experimental data of not only the pre- and post-neutron FPY but also neutron multiplicity are available are the thermal neutron-induced fission of $^{233}$U, $^{235}$U and $^{239}$Pu. Thus, we applied the model calculations to these systems and compared the calculation results with those from the GEF and the data from the ENDF and the EXFOR libraries. Both the pre- and post-neutron fission product mass distributions calculated by using the semi-empirical model and the neutron multiplicity reproduce the overall features of the experimental data.

I present a new formalism of the R-matrix theory where the formal parameters for the resonance energies and widths are identical to the observed values. By allowing the boundary condition parameters to vary from level to level, the freedom required to adjust the formal parameters for the pole positions to the observed values is obtained. The basis of the resulting theory becomes nonorthogonal, and I describe the procedure to construct a consistent R-matrix theory with such a nonorthogonal basis. And by adjusting the normalization of the states that form the basis, the formal parameters for the reduced decay widths also become the same as those observed, leaving no formal parameters that are different from the observed ones. A demonstration of the developed theory to the elastic 12C+p scattering data is presented., Comment: 5 pages, published version

The effects of introducing a small amount of non-thermal distribution (NTD) of elements in big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) are studied by allowing a fraction of the NTD to be time-dependent so that it contributes only during a certain period of the BBN evolution. The fraction is modeled as a Gaussian-shaped function of $\log(T)$, where $T$ is the temperature of the cosmos, and thus the function is specified by three parameters; the central temporal position, the width and the magnitude. The change in the average nuclear reaction rates due to the presence of the NTD is assumed to be proportional to the Maxwellian reaction rates but with temperature $T_{\rm NTD} \equiv \zeta T$, $\zeta$ being another parameter of our model. By scanning a wide four-dimensional parametric space at about half a million points, we have found about 130 points with $\chi^2< 1$, at which the predicted primordial abundances of light elements are consistent with the observations. The magnitude parameter $\varepsilon_0$ of these points turns out to be scattered over a very wide range from $\varepsilon_0 \sim 10^{-19}$ to $\sim 10^{-1}$, and the $\zeta$-parameter is found to be strongly correlated with the magnitude parameter $\varepsilon_0$. The temperature region with $0.3\times 10^9 \mbox{K} \lesssim T \lesssim 0.4\times 10^9 \mbox{K}$ or the temporal region $t\simeq 10^3$ s seems to play a central role in lowering $\chi^2$.

The density functional theory (DFT) is based on the existence and uniqueness of a universal functional $E[\rho]$, which determines the dependence of the total energy on single-particle density distributions. However, DFT says nothing about the form of the functional. Our strategy is to first look at what we know, from independent considerations, about the analytical density dependence of the energy of nuclear matter and then, for practical applications, to obtain an appropriate density-dependent effective interaction by reverse engineering. In a previous work on homogeneous matter, we identified the most essential terms to include in our "KIDS" functional, named after the early-stage participating institutes. We now present first results for finite nuclei, namely the energies and radii of $^{16,28}$O, $^{40,60}$Ca., Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, Contribution to the Proceedings of the 2016 Zakopane Conference on Nuclear Physics

The explicit density (rho) dependence in the coupling coefficients of the non-relativistic nuclear energy-density functional (EDF) encodes effects of three-nucleon forces and dynamical correlations. The necessity for a coupling coefficient in the form of a small fractional power of rho is empirical and the power often chosen arbitrarily. Consequently, precision-oriented parameterisations risk overfitting and loss of predictive power. Observing that the Fermi momentum kF~rho^1/3 is a key variable in Fermi systems, we examine if a power hierarchy in kF can be inferred from the properties of homogeneous matter in a domain of densities which is relevant for nuclear structure and neutron stars. For later applications we want to determine an EDF that is of good quality but not overtrained. We fit polynomial and other functions of rho^1/3 to existing microscopic calculations of the energy of symmetric and pure neutron matter and analyze the fits. We select a form and parameter set which we found robust and examine the parameters' naturalness and the resulting extrapolations. A statistical analysis confirms that low-order terms like rho^1/3 and rho^2/3 are the most relevant ones. It also hints at a different power hierarchy for symmetric vs. pure neutron matter, supporting the need for more than one rho^a terms in non-relativistic EDFs. The EDF we propose accommodates adopted properties of nuclear matter near saturation. Importantly, its extrapolation to dilute or asymmetric matter reproduces a range of existing microscopic results, to which it has not been fitted. It also predicts neutron-star properties consistent with observations. The coefficients display naturalness. Once determined for homogeneous matter, EDFs of the present form can be mapped onto Skyrme-type ones for use in nuclei. The statistical analysis can be extended to higher orders and for different ab initio calculations., Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures; v2: extended version

We have developed MICROMEGAS (MICRO MEsh GASeous) detectors for detecting {\alpha} particles emitted from an 241-Am standard source. The voltage applied to the ionization region of the detector is optimized for stable operation at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. The energy of {\alpha} particles from the 241-Am source can be varied by changing the flight path of the {\alpha} particle from the 241 Am source. The channel numbers of the experimentally-measured pulse peak positions for different energies of the {\alpha} particles are associated with the energies deposited by the alpha particles in the ionization region of the detector as calculated by using GEANT4 simulations; thus, the energy calibration of the MICROMEGAS detector for {\alpha} particles is done. For the energy calibration, the thickness of the ionization region is adjusted so that {\alpha} particles may completely stop in the ionization region and their kinetic energies are fully deposited in the region. The efficiency of our MICROMEGAS detector for {\alpha} particles under the present conditions is found to be ~ 97.3 %.

A so-called "two-step reaction scheme", in which neutron-rich rare isotopes obtained from ISOL are post-accelerated and bombarded on a second target, is employed to estimate the production yields of exotic rare isotopes. The production yields of neutron-rich rare isotope fragments induced by 200 MeV/u $^{132}$Sn beams bombarded on a $^{9}$Be target are estimated with Monte Carlo code, GEANT4. To substantiate the use of GEANT4 for this study, benchmark calculations are done for 80 MeV/u $^{59}$Co, 95 MeV/u $^{72}$Zn, 500 MeV/u $^{92}$Mo, and 950 MeV/u $^{132}$Sn beams on the $^{9}$Be target. It is found that $^{132}$Sn beams can produce neutron-rich rare isotopes with 45 $\leq$ Z $\leq$ 50 more effectively than $^{238}$U beams at the same energy per nucleon.

A new data-based charge exchange model of GEANT4 dedicated to the $^{9}$Be(p,n)$^{9}$B reaction is developed by taking the ENDF/B-VII.1 differential cross-section data as input. Our model yields results that are in good agreement with the experimental neutron yield spectrum data obtained for proton beams of energy $(20\sim35)$ MeV. In particular, in contrast to all the considered GEANT4 hadronic models, the peak structure resulting from the discrete neutrons generated by the charge-exchange reaction is observed to be accurately reproduced in our model.

The cross section for radiative thermal neutron capture on ${}^{3}He$ ($\He3 +n \to \He4 +\gamma$; known as the $hen$ reaction) is calculated based on heavy-baryon chiral perturbation theory. The relevant M1 operators are derived up to next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N${}^3$LO). The initial and final nuclear wave functions are obtained from the rigorous Faddeev-Yakubovski equations for five sets of realistic nuclear interactions. Up to N${}^3$LO, the M1 operators contain two low-energy constants, which appear as the coefficients of non-derivative two-nucleon contact terms. After determining these two constants using the experimental values of the magnetic moments of the triton and ${}^3 He$, we carry out a parameter-free calculation of the $hen$ cross section. The results are in good agreement with the data., Comment: 26 pages, 2 figures

M1 properties, comprising magnetic moments and radiative capture of thermal neutron observables, are studied in two- and three-nucleon systems. We utilize meson exchange current derived up to N$^3$LO using heavy baryon chiral perturbation theory a la Weinberg. Calculations have been performed for several qualitatively different realistic nuclear Hamiltonians, which permits us to analyze model dependence of our results. Our results are found to be strongly correlated with the effective range parameters such as binding energies and the scattering lengths. Taking into account such correlation, the results are in good agreement with the experimental data with small model-dependence., Comment: 24 pages, 3 figures

The magnetic moments of ${}^2{H}$, ${}^3{He}$ and ${}^3{H}$ as well as the thermal neutron capture rate on the proton are calculated using heavy baryon chiral perturbation theory {\it \`{a} la} Weinberg. The M1 operators have been derived up to {N$^3$LO}. The nuclear matrix elements are evaluated with the use of wave functions obtained by carrying out variational Monte Carlo calculations for a realistic nuclear Hamiltonian involving high-precision phenomenological potentials like Argonne Av18 and Urbana IX tri-nucleon interactions. We discuss the potential- and cutoff-dependence of the results., Comment: 14 pages, 2figures

An effective theory to treat the dense nuclear medium by the perturbative expansion method is proposed as a natural extension of the Heavy Baryon Chiral Perturbation Theory (HBChPT). Treating the Fermi momentum scale as a separate scale of the system, we get an improved convergence and the conceptually clear interpretation. We compute the pion decay constant and the pion velocity in the nuclear medium, and find their characters different from what the usual HBChPT predicts. We also obtain the Debye screening scale at the normal nuclear matter density, and the damping scale of the pion wave. Those results indicate that the present theory, albeit its improvement over the HBChPT, has the limitation yet to go over to the medium of about 1.3 times of normal matter density due to the absence of the intrinsic density dependence of the coupling constants. We discuss how we overcome this limitation in terms of the renormalization method., Comment: 39 pages and 7 eps figures

The $Hep$ process is a weak-interaction reaction, $He3 + p \to He4 + e^+ + \nu_e$, which occurs in the sun. There is renewed interest in $Hep$ owing to current experimental efforts to extract from the observed solar neutrino spectrum information on non-standard physics in the neutrino sector. $Hep$ produces highest-energy solar neutrinos, although their flux is quite modest. This implies that the $Hep$ neutrios can at some level influence the solar neutrino spectrum near its upper end. Therefore, a precise interpretation of the observed solar neutrino spectrum requires an accurate estimate of the $Hep$ rate. This is an interesting but challenging task. We describe the difficulties involved and how the recent theoretical developments in nuclear physics have enabled us to largely overcome these difficulties. A historical survey of $Hep$ calculations is followed by an overview of the latest developments. We compare the results obtained in the conventional nuclear physics approach and those obtained in a newly developed effective field theory approach. We also discuss the current status of the experiments relevant to $Hep$., Comment: Published in Ann. Rev. Nuc. Part. Sci. vol. 54, 19 (2004). AR209 macros are included

An effective field theory technique that combines the standard nuclear physics approach and chiral perturbation theory is applied to the $hen$ process, ${}^{3}{He}+n\to {}^{4}{He}+ \gamma$. For the initial and final nuclear states, high-precision wave functions are generated via the variational Monte Carlo method using the Argonne $v_{14}$ potential and Urbana VIII trinucleon interactions, while the relevant transition operators are calculated up to ${\cal O}(Q^4)$ in HB$\chi$PT. The imposition of the renormalization condition that the magnetic moments of ${}^{3}{He}$ and ${}^{3}{H}$ be reproduced allows us to carry out a parameter-free calculation of the $hen$ cross section. The result, $\sigma=(60\pm 3\pm 1) \mu b$, is in reasonable agreement with the experimental values, $(54\pm 6) \mu b$ and $(55\pm 3) \mu b$. This agreement demonstrates the validity of the calculational method previously used for estimating the reaction rate of the solar $hep$ process.

Recently we succeeded to make a reliable EFT prediction in a totally parameter-free manner for the $S$ factors for the solar $pp$ and $hep$ processes, $p+p\to d + e^+ +\nu_e$ and $\He3+p \to \He4 + e^+ + \nu_e$. The strategy used in there is to embed a highly sophisticated standard nuclear physics approach (SNPA) exploiting realistic potentials into an EFT framework, that we refer to as EFT*. Up to next-next-to-leading order in chiral expansion, it turnes out that there is effectively only one counter-term relevant to this process, the coefficient of which -- ($\hat d^R$) -- has been renormalized to reproduce the experimental value of the tritium-beta decay. Our study has also led to {\em very} accurate EFT calculations on two-body weak processes that also receive contributions from the $\hat d^R$ term, $\mu-d$ capture rate, and $\nu-d$ scattering cross section., Comment: Invited talk at the 17th International IUPAP Conference on Few-Body^M Problems in Physics (FB17), Durham, North Carolina, USA, June 5-10, 2003

By combining effective field theory with the standard nuclear physics approach (SNPA) we obtain a high-precision estimate of the $S$ factor for the solar $hep$ process. The accurate wave functions available in SNPA are used to evaluate the nuclear matrix elements for the transition operators that result from chiral perturbation theory (ChPT). All the contributions up to \nlo3 in ChPT are included. The resulting parameter-free, error-controlled prediction is: $S(hep)=(8.6 \pm 1.3)\times 10^{-20}$ keV-b., Comment: 3 pages, menuproc.sty is included. Talk given by T.-S. Park at 9th International Conference on Meson-Nucleon Physics and the Structure of Nucleon (MENU2001), Washington DC, July 2001

Using heavy-baryon chiral perturbation theory, we have calculated all the diagrams up to two-loop order which contribute to the S-wave pion self-energy in symmetric nuclear matter. Some subtleties related to the definition of pion fields are discussed. The in-medium pion mass is turned out to be increased by only (5 - 6) per cents in normal nuclear matter density, without any off-shell ambiguity., Comment: 9 pages with 3 eps figures

Heavy-baryon chiral perturbation theory (HBChPT) is applied to the asymmetry $A_\gamma$ in $\vec{n} + p \to d + \gamma$ at threshold, which arises due to the weak parity non-conserving interactions. Instead of appealing to Siegert's theorem, transition operators up to next-to-leading chiral order are derived and the corresponding amplitudes are evaluated with the Argonne $v_{18}$ wavefunctions. In addition to the impulse contribution, both parity-conserving and parity-non-conserving two-body one-pion-exchange diagrams appear up to this order. Our prediction for the asymmetry is $A_\gamma = - 0.10 \hpiNN$, which is close to the Siegert's theorem based result, $A_\gamma \simeq -0.11 \hpiNN$. This illustrates that HBChPT is effective in the parity-non-conserving physics., Comment: Discussions are extensively refined. To appear in Phys. Lett. B

Fundamental issues involving nuclei in the celebrated solar neutrino problem are discussed in terms of an effective field theory adapted to nuclear few-body systems, with a focus on the proton fusion process and the hep process. Our strategy in addressing these questions is to combine chiral perturbation theory -- an effective field theory of QCD -- with an accurate nuclear physics approach to arrive at a more effective effective field theory that reveals and exploits a subtle role of the chiral-symmetry scale in short-distance effects encoded in short-range nuclear correlations. Our key argument is drawn from the close analogy of the principal weak matrix element figuring in the hep process to the suppressed matrix elements in the polarized neutron-proton capture at threshold currently being measured in the laboratories., Comment: 11 pages. Invited talk given by MR at the International Conference on Few-Body Problems, Taipei, Taiwan, 6-10 March 2000

The $pp\to pp\pi^0$ cross section near threshold is computed up to one-loop order including the initial and final state interactions using the hybrid heavy baryon chiral perturbation theory and the counting rule a la Weinberg. With the counter terms whose coefficients are fixed by the resonance-saturation assumption, we find that the one-loop contributions are as important as the tree-order contribution and bring the present theoretical estimation of the total cross section close to the experimental data. The short-ranged contributions are controlled by means of a cutoff, and a mild cutoff dependence is observed when all diagrams of the given chiral order are summed. To the order treated, however, the expansion is found to converge rather slowly, calling for further studies of the process., Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures

Based on the effective field theory previously formulated by us to accurately postdict all low-energy two-nucleon properties as well as predict certain electroweak transitions in heavy nuclei, we make parameter-free predictions for the polarized np capture process \vec{n}+\vec{p} --> d +\gamma presently being measured at the Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble. Other participants of this meeting are invited to make their own predictions using their preferred approaches and join the bet for the best prediction to confront the forthcoming experiment., Comment: 19 pages, sprocl.sty needed. Talk given by MR at the Workshop on "Nuclear Physics with Effective Field Theories," Institute for Nuclear Theory, University of Washington, February 25-26, 1999, to appear in World Scientific

We show how effectively effective quantum field theories work in nuclear physics. Using the physically transparent cut-off regularization, we study the simplest nuclear systems of two nucleons for both bound and scattering states at a momentum scale much less than the pion mass. We consider all the static properties of the deuteron, the two-nucleon scattering phase-shifts, the n + p --> d + \gamma process at thermal energy and the solar proton fusion process p + p --> d + e(+) + \nu(e), and we demonstrate that these are all described with great accuracy in the expansion to the next-to-leading order. We explore how a "new" degree of freedom enters in an effective theory by turning on and off the role of the pion in the Lagrangian., Comment: 27 pages, Latex, 3 eps files, epsfig needed, slightly modified, to be published in Nucl. Phys. A

The proton burning process p + p -> d + e(+) + \nu(e), important for the stellar evolution of main-sequence stars of mass equal to or less than that of the Sun, is computed in effective field theory using chiral perturbation expansion to the next-to-next-to leading chiral order. This represents a model-independent calculation consistent with low-energy effective theory of QCD comparable in accuracy to the radiative np capture at thermal energy previously calculated by first using very accurate two-nucleon wavefunctions backed up by an effective field theory technique with a finite cut-off. The result obtained thereby is found to support within theoretical uncertainties the previous calculation of the same process by Bahcall and his co-workers., Comment: 30 pages, 2 eps files, aaspp4.sty needed, slightly modified, to be published in Ap. J

The properties of low-energy neutron-proton systems are studied in an effective field theory where only nucleons figure as relevant degrees of freedom. With a finite momentum cut-off regularization scheme, we show that the large scattering lengths of the np systems do not spoil the convergence of the effective field theory, which turns out to be extremely successful in reproducing, with little cut-off dependence, the deuteron properties, the np 1S0 scattering amplitude and most significantly, the M1 transition amplitude entering into the radiative np capture process., Comment: 11 pages, LaTeX, two eps figures, uses epsfig.sty and sprocl.sty. Invited talk at the APCTP Workshop on Astro-Hadron Physics, Seoul, Korea, October 1997

We illustrate how effective field theories work in nuclear physics by using an effective Lagrangian in which all other degrees of freedom than the nucleonic one have been integrated out to calculate the low-energy properties of two-nucleon systems, viz, the deuteron properties, the np 1S0 scattering amplitude and the M1 transition amplitude entering into the radiative np capture process. Exploiting a finite cut-off regularization procedure, we find all the two-nucleon low-energy properties to be accurately described with little cut-off dependence, in consistency with the general philosophy of effective field theories., Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX, two eps files. Slightly modified. To appear in Rapid Communication Section of Phys. Rev. C

The axial-vector coupling constant in nuclear medium is systematically studied using chiral perturbation theory. For normal nuclear matter, the first non-trivial corrections are estimated based on the independent particle approximation taking into account nuclear correlations in nuclear medium. The one-pion-exchange (OPE) two-body interactions turn out to enhance the coupling constant by $\delta g_A/g_A\simeq (0.09 \sim 0.15)$. The role of the four-nucleon contact interaction, whose low-energy constants are yet to be determined, is analyzed in connection with the empirical quenching factor of $\delta g_A/g_A\simeq -0.2$ in the presence of the nuclear short-range correlation. Conventional approaches are discussed in the light of our result., Comment: Some errors in the References are fixed. LaTeX file with four eps files. 10 pages

Exchange vector currents are calculated up to one-loop order (corresponding to next-to-next-to-leading order) in chiral perturbation theory. As an illustration of the power of the approach, we apply the formalism to the classic nuclear process $n+p\rightarrow d +\gamma$ at thermal energy. The exchange current correction comes out to be $(4.5 \pm 0.3)$ \% in amplitude giving a predicted cross section $\sigma= (334\pm 3)\ {\mbox mb}$ in excellent agreement with the experimental value $(334.2\pm 0.5)\ {\mbox mb}$. Together with the axial charge transitions computed previously, this result provides a strong support for the power of chiral Lagrangians in nuclear physics. As a by-product of our results, we suggest an open problem in the application of chiral Lagrangian approach to nuclear processes that has to do with giving a physical meaning to the short-range correlations that play an important role in nuclei., Comment: 42 pages, uuencoded 7 figures (epsfig.sty included), LaTeX

We calculate the cross-section for the thermal $n+p\rightarrow d+\gamma$ process in chiral perturbation theory to next-to-next-to-leading order using heavy-fermion formalism. The exchange current correction is found to be $(4.5\pm 0.3)~\%$ in amplitude and the chiral perturbation at one-loop order gives the cross section $\sigma_{th}^{np}=(334\pm 2)\ {\mbox mb}$ which is in agreement with the experimental value $(334.2\pm 0.5)\ {\mbox mb}$. Together with the axial charge transitions, this provides a strong support for the power of chiral Lagrangians for nuclear physics., Comment: 9 pages, revtex, uses epsfig.sty, 2 uuencoded figures

We calculate shell-model matrix elements of the axial-charge exchange current operators that have been obtained up to the next-to-leading order from heavy-fermion chiral perturbation theory. It is found that loop corrections to the soft one-pion-exchange contribution are small (around 10 \%) and have no significant dependence on the nuclear mass number or on the valence-nucleon orbits. These results render further support to the chiral-filtering conjecture., Comment: 19 pages, LaTeX, SNUTP 94-29, USC(NT)-94-2

Chiral perturbation theory in heavy-fermion formalism is developed for meson-exchange currents in nuclei and applied to nuclear axial- charge transitions. Calculation is performed to the next-to-leading order in chiral expansion which involves graphs up to one loop. The result turns out to be very simple. The previously conjectured notion of "chiral filter mechanism" in the time component of the nuclear axial current and the space component of the nuclear electromagnetic current is verified to that order. As a consequence, the phenomenologically observed soft-pion dominance in the nuclear process is given a simple interpretation in terms of chiral symmetry in nuclei. In this paper, we focus on the axial current, relegating the EM current which can be treated in a similar way to a separate paper. We discuss the implication of our result on the enhanced axial-charge transitions observed in heavy nuclei and clarify the relationship between the phenomenological meson-exchange description and the chiral Lagrangian description., Comment: LATEX, 55 pages (11 figures not included, supplied upon request);SNUTP 92-97

We develop a systematic chiral perturbation expansion for the calculation of meson-exchange currents in nuclei and apply the formalism to nuclear axial currents. We summarize the principal results of such a calculation to one loop order on nuclear axial-charge transitions which provides a strong support to the conjecture of ``chiral filter phenomenon" in nuclear medium. The use of heavy baryon chiral perturbation theory enables us to obtain a remarkably simple result valid next to the leading order in chiral counting. The dominant role of a soft-pion exchange in axial-charge transitions in heavy nuclei is confirmed. An important, {\it albeit} indirect, consequence of our result on the empirically observed enhancement in axial-charge transitions in heavy nuclei is pointed out., Comment: 11 pages, LaTeX file, SNUTP 92-82