Two and three pion-cut contributions to nucleon-nucleon scattering

Examining information from NN forward scattering in terms of discrepancy functions, we show that the 2π cut contributions as calculated via dispersion methods from πN scattering are in perfect agreement with NN scattering. Furthermore, we demonstrate the need for 3π cut contributions which are quantitatively well described by a nucleon exchange model. Finally, in addition to the 2π and 3π cut contributions, we determine the coupling constants of the ω and A₁ to be: g_Vω²/4π = 8.1 ± 1.5, g_Tω/g_Vω = 0.14 ± 0.20 and g_A1²/4π = 7.3 ± 3.0. The coupling of the η turns out to be zero.