Perturbation theory for the effective interaction in nuclei

Starting from a decomposition of the Hamiltonian H(x) of the nuclear many-body problem in the form H(x) = H₀ + xV, where H₀ is a shell-model Hamiltonian, V the residual interaction, and x a strength parameter, we introduce a general effective interaction W(x) describing the interaction of nucleons within a shell, and the associated effective operators $\text{A}\text{?}\text{(x)}$. We display some properties of these operators. From a particular choice of W(x) we obtain the expressions introduced earlier by several authors. The convergence of the expansions for W(x) and $\text{A}\text{?}\text{(x)}$ in powers of x is investigated. It is shown that W(x) and $\text{A}\text{?}\text{(x)}$ are holomorphic in a domain of the complex x-plane including the point x = 0. With the help of a generalization of the von Neumann-Wigner noncrossing rule, we exhibit the nature of the common singularity of W(x) and $\text{A}\text{?}\text{(x)}$ which is closest to the origin and thus defines the radius r₀ of convergence of the expansions of W and $\text{A}\text{?}$. It is shown that r₀ is unaffected by the cancellation of unlinked diagrams. A criterion of consistency is established, which shows that most of the practical calculations of W lead to results which are inconsistent with the definition of W.