We investigate the effects of next-to-next-to leading order (NNLO) chiral three-nucleon force (3NF) on nucleus-nucleus elastic scattering, using a standard prescription based on the Brueckner-Hartree-Fock method and the $g$-matrix folding model. The $g$-matrix calculated in nuclear matter from the next-to-next-to-next-to leading order $\left({\mathrm{N}}^3\text{LO}\right)$ chiral two-nucleon forces (2NF) is close to that from the Bonn-B 2NF. Since the Melbourne group has already developed a practical $g$-matrix interaction by localizing the nonlocal $g$-matrix calculated from the Bonn-B 2NF, as this first attempt we consider the effects of chiral 3NF by modifying the local Melbourne $g$ matrix according to the difference between the $g$ matrices of the chiral 2NF and 2NF+3NF. For nucleus-nucleus elastic scattering, the 3NF corrections make the folding potential less attractive and more absorptive. The latter effect is due to the enhanced tensor correlations in triplet channels. These changes reduce the differential cross section at middle and large angles and improve the agreement with the experimental data for ${}^{16}\mathrm{O}\text{−}{}^{16}\mathrm{O}$ scattering at 70 MeV/nucleon and ${}^{12}\mathrm{C}\text{−}{}^{12}\mathrm{C}$ scattering at 85 MeV/nucleon.

• Received 21 April 2014
• Revised 27 October 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.90.051601