Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov approximation to relativistic nuclear matter

We extend the mean-field approximation to relativistic quantum hadrodynamics to include pairing in nuclear matter. This approach permits a simultaneous description of the energy gap in the single-particle spectrum and of the saturation point of nuclear matter. The mean field associated with the pairing correlations has large scalar and vector components that cancel each other resulting in a gap parameter that agrees with the results of nonrelativistic calculations. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society