Fermi hypernetted-chain calculation of the half-diagonal two-body density matrix of model nuclear matter - art. no. 024301

The half-diagonal two-body density matrix rho (2h)(r(1), r(2),r(1')) is a k ey quantity in theoretical descriptions of nucleon knockout reactions at in termediate energies, due to its central role in treatments of the propagati on and final-state interactions of ejected nucleons in the nuclear medium. This quantity is calculated for a simple model of the ground state of infin ite symmetrical nuclear matter, based on a Jastrow-correlated wave function and a Fermi hypernetted-chain analysis. The dependence of rho (2h) on the variables r(11') = \r(1) - r(1')\, r(12) = \r(1) - r(2)\, and the angle the ta between r(1) - r(1'), and r(1) - r(2) is investigated in some detail. Si gnificant departures from ideal Fermi gas behavior in certain domains refle ct the importance of short-range correlations and their interplay with stat istical correlations. The quality of approximations to rho (2h) proposed by Gersch et al., Rinat, and Silver is assessed by comparison with the Fermi hypernetted-chain results.