COUPLED-CHANNEL POTENTIAL FOR NUCLEONS AND DELTAS

We propose a nucleon-nucleon potential for which the NN, NDELTA, and D ELTADELTA channels are coupled by energy-independent, nonlocal interac tions constructed from meson-exchange interactions. The same vertex co uplings that were utilized in earlier studies based on the Bonn single -channel NN potential are adopted. We arrive at our interaction by app lying an extension of the folded diagram expansion to coupled channels . The coupled-channel formalism facilitates studies of the interplay b etween nucleon and delta degrees of freedom and bound-state properties of nuclear matter and finite nuclei. It also establishes a framework that might simplify the treatment of nucleon-nucleon scattering to ene rgies above pion-production threshold.