Chiral quark-soliton model in the Wigner-Seitz approximation

In this paper we study the modification of the properties of the nucleon in the nucleus within the quark-soliton model. This is a covariant, dynamical model, which provides a nonlinear representation of the spontaneously broken SU(2){sub L}xSU(2){sub R} symmetry of QCD. The effects of the nuclear medium are accounted for by using the Wigner-Seitz approximation and therefore reducing the complex many-body problem to a simpler single-particle problem. We find a minimum in the binding energy at finite density, a change in the isoscalar nucleon radius, and a reduction of the in-medium pion decay constant. The latter is consistent with a partial restoration of chiral symmetry at finite density, which is predicted by other models. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society.