Recent determinations of the πNNcoupling constant and deuteron properties

We examine the deuteron properties using the new value for the πNN coupling constant, ${\mathit{g}}_{\mathrm{\pi }}^2$/4π=13.3±0.3, which has been obtained in a recent analysis of ${\mathrm{\pi }}^{\pm }$p data and is about 7% smaller than earlier determinations. We find that this value is at variance with the deuteron properties if the strong empirical (Höhler-Pietarinen) ρ coupling is assumed which, in fact, is used in almost all modern realistic meson-theoretic models for the NN interaction. Within such models, a minimum of 13.9 for ${\mathit{g}}_{\mathrm{\pi }}^2$/4π is required, especially for the correct description of the deuteron quadrupole moment.