The contribution of the three-body correlations to the binding energy of symmetric nuclear matter is calculated by solving the Bethe-Faddeev equation by direct matrix inversion in momentum space. The calculations described in this paper provide both a check and, from a practical point of view, an easier alternative to previous calculations relying on a separable approximation to the $G$ matrix appearing in the Bethe-Faddeev kernel.

• Received 16 July 2003

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.68.057301