Relativistic constraints on 3N contact interactions

Abstract

In this paper we analyze the relativistic corrections to the leading order three-nucleon (3N) contact interactions. These boost corrections are derived first from the nonrelativistic reduction of covariant Lagrangians and later from the Poincar\'e algebra constraints on nonrelativistic theories. We show that in order to describe the 3N potential in reference frames other than the center-of-mass frame, the inclusion of five additional terms with fixed coefficients is required. These terms will be relevant in systems with mass number A>3. How they will affect EFT calculations of binding energies and scattering observables in these systems should be investigated.