On the contribution of three-body forces to Nd interaction at intermediate energies

Available data on large-angle nucleon-deuteron elastic scattering Nd→dN below the pion threshold give a signal for three-body forces. The problem exists of the separation of possible subtle aspects of these forces from off-shell effects in two-nucleon potentials. By considering the main mechanisms of the process Nd→dN, we show qualitatively that in the quasi-binary reaction N+d→(NN)+N with the final spin singlet nucleon-nucleon pair in the S-state, the relative contribution of the three-nucleon forces differs substantially from the elastic channel. It gives a new testing basis for the problem in question.