The integral equation approach to four-nucleon bound states

Within the framework of the Yakubovsky four-body equations the 0⁺ bound states of ⁴He are determined. The two-particle interactions used are of the separable Yamaguchi type and include spin-dependent forces. The problem is reduced to the solution of four coupled integral equations in two variables. The separable approximation of the kernels makes it possible to reduce the problem to a set of single variable integral equations. The separable approximation method employed is based on the Hilbert-Schmidt expansion applied to the kernels of four-body equations. The ground state energy of ⁴He is found to be ?45.73 MeV, the excited 0⁺ level lies at ?11.69 MeV. In conclusion we discuss the accuracy of various approximate methods in the four-nucleon problem.