Radiative neutron capture on carbon-14 in effective field theory

Abstract

The cross section for radiative capture of neutron on carbon-14 is calculated using the model-independent formalism of halo effective field theory. The dominant contribution from $E1$ transition is considered, and the cross section is expressed in terms of elastic-scattering parameters of the effective-range expansion. Contributions from both resonant and nonresonant interaction are calculated. Significant interference between these leads to a capture contribution that deviates from a simple Breit-Wigner resonance form.