Neutron structure effects in the deuteron and one neutron halos

Abstract

Although the neutron (n) does not carry a total electric charge, its charge and magnetization distributions represented in momentum space by the electromagnetic form factors, $F_1^{(n)} (q^2)$ and $F_2^{(n)} (q^2)$, lead to an electromagnetic potential of the neutron. Using this fact, we calculate the electromagnetic corrections to the binding energy, $B_d$, of the deuteron and a one neutron halo nucleus (11Be), by evaluating the neutron-proton and the neutron-charged core (10Be) potential, respectively. The correction to $B_d$ (~9 keV) is comparable to that arising due to the inclusion of the $\Delta$-isobar component in the deuteron wave function. In the case of the more loosely bound halo nucleus, 11Be, the correction is close to about 2 keV.