Scale dependence of the nucleon–nucleon potential

The scale-dependence of the nucleon–nucleon (NN) potential, which in recent years has been extensively analyzed within the context of chiral effective field theory, is, in fact, inherent in any models constrained by a fit to scattering data. A comparison between a purely phenomenological potential and a set of local interactions derived from chiral effective field theory suggests that — owing to the ability to describe NN scattering at higher energies, as well as the deuteron momentum distribution obtained from the [Formula: see text]-scaling analysis of electro-disintegration data — purely phenomenological potentials are best suited to describe nuclear dynamics at the scale relevant to neutron star matter and correlation effects in nuclei. The breakdown of the paradigm based on the description of nuclear systems in terms of point-like protons and neutrons is briefly discussed.