Three-pion exchange nucleon-nucleon potentials with virtual $Δ$-isobar excitation

Abstract: The nucleon-nucleon interaction arising from the exchange of three pions and the excitation of $\Delta(1232)$-isobars in intermediate states is studied. Approximating the $\Delta$-propagator by the inverse $\Delta$N mass-splitting, analytical expressions are derived for the spectral-functions of the isoscalar and isovector central, spin-spin and tensor NN-potentials in momentum-space. A trans- lation of the spectral-functions into coordinate-space potentials reveals that the main effect of these specific exchange and excitation mechanisms is a repulsive isoscalar central NN-potential.