REDUCTION OF THE SPIN-ORBIT POTENTIAL IN LIGHT DRIP-LINE NUCLEI

The isospin dependence of the spin-orbit interaction in light neutron rich nuclei is investigated in the framework of relativistic mean fiel d theory. The magnitude of the spin-orbit potential is considerably re duced in drip line nuclei, resulting in smaller energy splittings betw een spin-orbit partners. The effect does not depend on the parametriza tion of the effective Lagrangian. The results are compared with corres ponding calculations in the non-relativistic Skyrme model. (C) 1998 El sevier Science B.V.