Two-Nucleon Systems in a Finite Volume: (II) 3S1-3D1 Coupled Channels and the Deuteron

Abstract

The energy spectra of two nucleons in a cubic volume provide access to the two phase shifts and one mixing angle that define the S-matrix in the 3S1-3D1 coupled channels containing the deuteron. With the aid of recently derived energy quantization conditions for such systems, and the known scattering parameters, these spectra are predicted for a range of volumes. It is found that extractions of the infinite-volume deuteron binding energy and leading scattering parameters, including the S-D mixing angle at the deuteron pole, are possible from Lattice QCD calculations of two-nucleon systems with boosts of |P| <= 2pi sqrt{3}/L in volumes with 10 fm <~ L <~ 14 fm. The viability of extracting the asymptotic D/S ratio of the deuteron wavefunction from Lattice QCD calculations is discussed.