A separable approximation to the two-body t-matrix for short-range central local potentials

The S-wave potential in momentum space, V₀(p, p′), corresponding to a local two-body central short-range potential may be expanded in separable form with the help of suitable quadrature formulae. With a two-term separable expansion for a variety of nuclear potentials, the resulting t-matrix is found to be in close agreement with the corresponding result with a six-term expansion for small values of p and p′ which are important in the calculation of the trinucleon binding energy.