Trinucleon bound-state system

The trinucleon system can be used to test the validity of the traditional approach of nuclear physics which describes nuclei as a system of nonrelativistic nucleons interacting via two-body forces. It is not possible to solve bound-state problems to any desired accuracy. Thus, a disagreement between the numerical calculations and the experimental data can be attributed to a failure of the model and not to a lack of numerical accuracy. The use of the Faddeev equations to solve the three-body bound state is reviewed, and the various numerical techniques are discussed. The results of recent calculations by several different groups are presented, and the agreement is used to demonstrate the accuracy of the calculations. The evidence for three-body forces is reviewed, and the results of the recent calculations which include two-pion-exchange three-body forces are presented. The numerical calculations of the electromagnetic observables for the trinucleon are discussed, and comparisons are made with the experimental data. Topics covered include the rms change radius, charge form factors, charge densities, Coulomb energy of 3He, and magnetic moments