Model dependence of the H2 electric dipole moment

Background: Direct measurement of the electric dipole moment (EDM) of the neutron is in the future; measurement of a nuclear EDM may well come first. The deuteron is one nucleus for which exact model calculations are feasible. Purpose: We explore the model dependence of deuteron EDM calculations. Methods: Using a separable potential formulation of the Hamiltonian, we examine the sensitivity of the deuteron EDM to variation in the nucleon-nucleon interaction. We write the EDM as the sum of two terms, the first depending on the target wave function with plane-wave intermediate states, and the second depending on intermediate multiple scattering in the 3P ₁ channel, the latter being sensitive to the off-shell behavior of the 3P ₁ amplitude. Results: We compare the full calculation with the plane-wave approximation result, examine the tensor force contribution to the model results, and explore the effect of short-range repulsion found in realistic, contemporary potential models of the deuteron. Conclusions: Because one-pion exchange dominates the EDM calculation, separable potential model calculations will provide an adequate description of the H2 EDM until such time as a measurement better than 10% is obtained.