EFFECTS OF STRONG INTERACTIONS AND FINITE NUCLEAR CHARGE RADIUS IN PIONIC ATOMS

Abstract

For studies involving the interaction of bound pions with the atomic nucleus, it is essential to investigate details of the pionic wave function at the nucleus. These are especially important for the1S orbitals, where both the repulsive strong interaction and the effects of finite nuclear charge radius are important. We present calculations based on the use of a square-well potential to simulate the strong interactions. The nuclear charge distribution is taken to be that of a uniformly charged sphere. The corresponding Schrödinger equation is solved exactly. The square-well radius is taken to be the same as the nuclear radius, and its strength is chosen so as to obtain agreement with the observed 2P−1S energy differences. For light nuclei, the probability of finding the meson in the nucleus is found to be approximately one-fourth to one-half that calculated with conventional hydrogenic wave functions.