Nonlocal nature of the nuclear force and its impact on nuclear structure

We calculate the triton binding energy with a nonlocal $\mathrm{NN}$ potential that fits the world $\mathrm{NN}$ data below 350 MeV with the almost perfect ${\chi }^2/\mathrm{datum}$ of 1.03. The nonlocality is derived from relativistic meson field theory. The result obtained in a 34-channel, charge-dependent Faddeev calculation is 8.00 MeV, which is 0.4 MeV above the predictions by local $\mathrm{NN}$ potentials. The increase in binding energy can be clearly attributed to the off-shell behavior of the nonlocal potential. Our result cuts in half the discrepancy between theory and experiment established from local $\mathrm{NN}$ potentials. Implications for other areas of miscroscopic nuclear structure, in which underbinding is a traditional problem, are discussed.