Nuclear symmetry potential in the relativistic impulse approximation

Using the relativistic impulse approximation with the Love-Franey NN scattering amplitude developed by Murdock and Horowitz, we investigate the low-energy (100⩽E_kin⩽400 MeV) behavior of the nucleon Dirac optical potential, the Schrödinger-equivalent potential, and the nuclear symmetry potential in isospin asymmetric nuclear matter. We find that the nuclear symmetry potential at fixed baryon density decreases with increasing nucleon energy. In particular, the nuclear symmetry potential at saturation density changes from positive to negative values at nucleon kinetic energy of about 200 MeV. Furthermore, the obtained energy and density dependence of the nuclear symmetry potential is consistent with those of the isospin- and momentum-dependent MDI interaction with x=0, which has been found to describe reasonably well both the isospin diffusion data from heavy-ion collisions and the empirical neutron-skin thickness of ²⁰⁸Pb.