The three-body problem with short-range forces: renormalized equations and regulator-independent results

We discuss effective field theory treatments of the problem of three particles interacting via short-range forces. One case of such a system is neutron-deuteron scattering at low energies. We demonstrate that in attractive channels the renormalization-group evolution of the 1+2 scattering amplitude may be complicated by the presence of eigenvalues greater than unity in the kernel. We also show that these eigenvalues can be removed from the kernel by one subtraction, resulting in an equation which is renormalization-group invariant. A unique solution for 1+2 scattering phase shifts is then obtained. We give an explicit demonstration of our procedure for both the case of three spinless bosons and the case of the doublet channel in nd scattering. After the contribution of the two-body effective range is included in the effective field theory, it gives a good description of the nd doublet phase shifts below deuteron breakup threshold.