In the relativistic impulse approximation (RIA), we study symmetry potentials and in-medium nucleon-nucleon $\left(NN\right)$ cross sections with the Nambu–Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model that features chiral symmetry. The chiral symmetry that plays a fundamental role in the nonperturbative physics in the strong interaction is anticipated to add restrictive effects on the symmetry potentials and in-medium $NN$ cross sections. For comparison, we also perform the study with the usual relativistic mean-field (RMF) model. The numerical results with the NJL and RMF models are similar at saturation density and below, since a priori fit was made to saturation properties. With the increase of nuclear density, the chiral symmetry starts to be restored partially in the NJL model, resulting in the explicit fall of the scalar density. In a large energy span, the symmetry potential acquires a significant rise for the partial restoration of the chiral symmetry, compared to the one with the RMF model. It is found that the in-medium $NN$ cross sections in the RIA with the NJL and RMF models both increase with the density in the energy region interested in this study, whereas those with the NJL model increase sharply as long as a clear chiral symmetry restoration takes place. The different tendency of observables in density can be transmitted to the different energy dependence in the RIA. The NJL model is shown to have characteristic energy-dependent symmetry potentials and $NN$ cross sections beyond saturation point, apart from the RMF models.

• Received 24 August 2020
• Revised 22 November 2020
• Accepted 25 May 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.103.064604