NN Scattering Phase Shifts in a Chiral Constituent Quark Model

Abstract

We study the nucleon-nucleon interaction within a chiral constituent quark model which reproduces succesfully the baryon spectra. We calculate the 3S1 and 1S0 phase shifts by using the resonating group method. They clearly indicate the presence of a strong repulsive interaction at short distance, due to the spin-flavor symmetry of the quark-quark interaction and of the quark interchange between the two interacting nucleons. A sigma-exchange quark-quark interaction, providing a medium-range attraction, helps to get closer to the experimental phase shifts.