Effectiveness of effective field theory in peripheral nucleon-nucleon scattering

Peripheral nucleon-nucleon scattering is analyzed in the framework of an effective field theory. Distorted-wave methods are used to remove the effects of one-pion exchange. Two-pion exchange and recoil corrections to one-pion exchange are then subtracted pertubatively. This removes all contributions up to order Q3 in the chiral expansion. We have applied this to the 1D2, 1F3, and 1G 4 waves, using phase shifts from various partial-wave analyses by the Nijmegen group. In regions where these analyses agree we find no evidence for a breakdown of the chiral expansion. One of the terms in the effective short-range potential, the leading one in the 1D2 channel, is larger than might be expected, but in general these terms have momentum scales of about 300-400 MeV. We also see hints of isospin breaking in the πN couplings.