The Coester Line in Relativistic Mean Field Nuclear Matter

Abstract

The Walecka model contains essentially two parameters that are associated with the Lorentz scalar (S) and vector (V) interactions. These parameters are related to a two-body interaction consisting of S and V, imposing the condition that the two-body binding energy is fixed. We have obtained a set of different values for the nuclear matter binding energies at equilibrium densities. We investigated the existence of a linear correlation between $B_N$ and $\rho_0$, claimed to be universal for nonrelativistic systems and usually known as the Coester line, and found an approximate linear correlation only if $V?S$ remains constant. It is shown that the relativistic content of the model, which is related to the strength of $V?S$, is responsible for the shift of the Coester line to the empirical region of nuclear matter saturation.