Accuracy of the Born Approximation in Nuclear Many-Body Theory

Brueckner's equation for the reaction matrix in the many-body theory is solved for an S-state potential by an iterative process. The effective potential energy of a nucleon, and hence the binding energy, are calculated in the first order. When the second-order term is calculated, it is found that it is only a small correction which raises the binding energy from 16.9 Mev to 19.4 Mev per particle. No explanation of the saturation of nuclear forces at the known density can be given in this way.