On contribution of three-body forces to $Nd$ interaction at intermediate energies

Abstract

Available data on large-angle nucleon-deuteron elastic scattering $Nd\to dN$ below the pion threshold give a signal for three-body forces. There is a problem of separation of possible subtle aspects of these forces from off-shell effects in two-nucleon potentials. By considering the main mechanisms of the process, we show qualitatively that in the quasi-binary reaction $N+d\to (NN)+N$ with the final spin singlet NN-pair in the S-state the relative contribution of the 3N forces differs substantially from the elastic channel. It gives a new testing ground for the problem in question.