Elastic nucleon-pion scattering at $m_\pi=200$ MeV from lattice QCD
John Bulava, Andrew D. Hanlon, Ben Hörz, Colin Morningstar, Amy Nicholson, Fernando Romero-López, Sarah Skinner, Pavlos Vranas, André Walker-Loud
Elastic nucleon-pion scattering amplitudes are computed using lattice QCD on a single ensemble of gauge field configurations with $N_f=2+1$ dynamical quark flavors and $m_\pi=200$ MeV. The s-wave scattering lengths with both total isospins $I=1/2$ and $I=3/2$ are inferred from the finite-volume spectrum below the inelastic threshold together with the $I=3/2$ p-wave containing the $\Delta(1232)$ resonance. The amplitudes are well-described by the effective range expansion with parameters constrained by fits to the finite-volume energy levels enabling a determination of the $I=3/2$ scattering length with statistical errors below 5%, while the $I=1/2$ is somewhat less precise. Systematic errors due to excited states and the influence of higher partial waves are controlled, providing a pathway for future computations down to the physical light quark masses with multiple lattice spacings and physical volumes.