Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:2405.09807 · The European Physical Journal A

Three-body forces and Efimov physics in nuclei and atoms

Shimpei Endo, E. Epelbaum, Pascal Naidon, Yusuke Nishida, K. Sekiguchi, Yoshiro Takahashi

Published Jan 22, 2025• 16 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract This review article presents historical developments and recent advances in our understanding on the three-body forces and Efimov physics, from an interdisciplinary viewpoint encompassing nuclear physics and cold atoms. Theoretical attempts to elucidate the three-body force with the chiral effective field theory are explained, followed by an overview of experiments aimed at observing signatures of the nuclear three-body force. Some recent experimental and theoretical works in the field of cold atoms devoted to measuring and engineering three-body forces among atoms are also presented. As a phenomenon arising from the three-body effect, Efimov physics in both cold atoms and nuclear systems is reviewed.

DOI
10.1140/epja/s10050-024-01467-4

Related papers

Efimov physics: a review

Pascal Naidon, Shimpei Endo

This article reviews theoretical and experimental advances in Efimov physics, an array of quantum few-body and many-body phenomena arising for particles interacting via short-range resonant interactions, that is based on the appearance of a scale-invariant three-body attraction theoretically discovered by Vitaly Efimov in 1970. This three-body effect was originally proposed to explain the binding of nuclei such as the triton and the Hoyle state of carbon-12, and later considered as a simple explanation for the existence of some halo nuclei. It was subsequently evidenced in trapped ultra-cold atomic clouds and in diffracted molecular beams of gaseous helium. These experiments revealed that the previously undetermined three-body parameter introduced in the Efimov theory to stabilise the three-body attraction typically scales with the range of atomic interactions. The few- and many-body consequences of the Efimov attraction have been since investigated theoretically, and are expected to be observed in a broader spectrum of physical systems.

arXiv:1610.09805•Reports on Progress in Physics•Mar 28, 2017•477 citations

Origin of the Three-Body Parameter Universality in Efimov Physics

Jia Wang, José Paulo D'Incao, Brett D. Esry +1 more

In recent years extensive theoretical and experimental studies of universal few-body physics have advanced our understanding of universal Efimov physics. Whereas theory had been the driving force behind our understanding of Efimov physics for decades, recent experiments have contributed an unexpected discovery. Specifically, measurements have found that the so-called three-body parameter determining several properties of the system is universal, even though fundamental assumptions in the theory of the Efimov effect suggest that it should be a variable property that depends on the precise details of the short-range two- and three-body interactions. The present Letter resolves this apparent contradiction by elucidating previously unanticipated implications of the two-body interactions. Our study shows that the three-body parameter universality emerges because a universal effective barrier in the three-body potentials prevents the three particles from simultaneously getting close together. Our results also show limitations on this universality, as it is more likely to occur for neutral atoms but less likely to extend to light nuclei.

arXiv:1201.1176•Physical Review Letters•Jun 26, 2012•181 citations

Universal few-body physics and cluster formation

Chris H. Greene, Panagiotis Giannakeas, Jesús Pérez‐Ríos

A comprehensive account of the theoretical analyses of the Efimov effect and the universal properties of three-body bound states is provided. Recent experimental studies are reviewed and shown how the few-body analysis also yields insights into many-body phenomena, accessible by the experimental ability to tune the range and strength of the forces between cold atoms.

arXiv:1704.02029•Reviews of Modern Physics•Aug 28, 2017•254 citations

Efimov Effect in a Three body System

Vandana Arora

The quantum three body problem generally has its own complexities and is difficult to solve. It requires rigorous steps and iterations to find the solution. We often encounter three body system in various branches of physics including Nuclear Physics, Particle, Atomic, Molecular physics, and condensed matter. The underlying physics involved is quite complicated. Faddeev in 1961 made a successful attempt and formulated theory of three particle scattering in a rather rigorous mathematical way. Efimov developed a method that enabled one to obtain the universal properties of three particle system and is quite independent of the two body potentials. This article attempts to introduce Efimov effect. The formalism and the salient features are also discussed.

IOSR Journal of Applied Physics•Jul 1, 2025•0 citations

Three-body systems in physics of cold atoms and halo nuclei

Chen Ji

Few-body systems, such as cold atoms and halo nuclei, share universal features at low energies, which are insensitive to the underlying inter-particle interactions at short ranges. These low-energy properties can be investigated in the framework of effective field theory with two-body and three-body contact interactions. I review the effective-field-theory studies of universal physics in three-body systems, focusing on the application in cold atoms and halo nuclei.

arXiv:1512.06114•International Journal of Modern Physics E•Apr 26, 2016•11 citations

Three bodies bind even when two do not: Efimov states and Fano resonances in atoms and nuclei

A. R. P. Rau

Efimov's prediction more than three decades ago that three-body bound states can exist when the pairwise attractions do not bind or only support weakly bound states of a pair, has remained unconfirmed till just the past year. This lecture provides the pedagogical background for recent work on Efimov states in neutron-rich nuclei done with I. Mazumdar (TIFR) and V. S. Bhasin (Delhi University), and published in Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 062503 (2006). Both these nuclear systems and recent observations of cold cesium atoms provide the first clear evidence for the existence of Efimov states.

arXiv:0706.1230•Jun 8, 2007•1 citation
Abstract This review article presents historical developments and recent advances in our understanding on the three-body forces and Efimov physics, from an interdisciplinary viewpoint encompassing nuclear physics and cold atoms. Theoretical attempts to elucidate the three-body force with the chiral effective field theory are explained, followed by an overview of experiments aimed at observing signatures of the nuclear three-body force. Some recent experimental and theoretical works in the field of cold atoms devoted to measuring and engineering three-body forces among atoms are also presented. As a phenomenon arising from the three-body effect, Efimov physics in both cold atoms and nuclear systems is reviewed.
This article reviews theoretical and experimental advances in Efimov physics, an array of quantum few-body and many-body phenomena arising for particles interacting via short-range resonant interactions, that is based on the appearance of a scale-invariant three-body attraction theoretically discovered by Vitaly Efimov in 1970. This three-body effect was originally proposed to explain the binding of nuclei such as the triton and the Hoyle state of carbon-12, and later considered as a simple explanation for the existence of some halo nuclei. It was subsequently evidenced in trapped ultra-cold atomic clouds and in diffracted molecular beams of gaseous helium. These experiments revealed that the previously undetermined three-body parameter introduced in the Efimov theory to stabilise the three-body attraction typically scales with the range of atomic interactions. The few- and many-body consequences of the Efimov attraction have been since investigated theoretically, and are expected to be observed in a broader spectrum of physical systems.
In recent years extensive theoretical and experimental studies of universal few-body physics have advanced our understanding of universal Efimov physics. Whereas theory had been the driving force behind our understanding of Efimov physics for decades, recent experiments have contributed an unexpected discovery. Specifically, measurements have found that the so-called three-body parameter determining several properties of the system is universal, even though fundamental assumptions in the theory of the Efimov effect suggest that it should be a variable property that depends on the precise details of the short-range two- and three-body interactions. The present Letter resolves this apparent contradiction by elucidating previously unanticipated implications of the two-body interactions. Our study shows that the three-body parameter universality emerges because a universal effective barrier in the three-body potentials prevents the three particles from simultaneously getting close together. Our results also show limitations on this universality, as it is more likely to occur for neutral atoms but less likely to extend to light nuclei.
The quantum three body problem generally has its own complexities and is difficult to solve. It requires rigorous steps and iterations to find the solution. We often encounter three body system in various branches of physics including Nuclear Physics, Particle, Atomic, Molecular physics, and condensed matter. The underlying physics involved is quite complicated. Faddeev in 1961 made a successful attempt and formulated theory of three particle scattering in a rather rigorous mathematical way. Efimov developed a method that enabled one to obtain the universal properties of three particle system and is quite independent of the two body potentials. This article attempts to introduce Efimov effect. The formalism and the salient features are also discussed.
Efimov's prediction more than three decades ago that three-body bound states can exist when the pairwise attractions do not bind or only support weakly bound states of a pair, has remained unconfirmed till just the past year. This lecture provides the pedagogical background for recent work on Efimov states in neutron-rich nuclei done with I. Mazumdar (TIFR) and V. S. Bhasin (Delhi University), and published in Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 062503 (2006). Both these nuclear systems and recent observations of cold cesium atoms provide the first clear evidence for the existence of Efimov states.