ρ-mass modification in 3He: Signal of restoration of chiral symmetry or test for nuclear matter models?

Abstract

Two recent experiments have demonstrated that the effective ρ-mass in nuclear medium, as extracted from the 3He(γ,π+π-) reaction, is substantially reduced. This has been advocated as an indication of partial restoration of chiral symmetry in nuclear matter. We show that even in the absence of chiral symmetry, effective mean field nuclear matter models can explain these findings quantitatively.