Abstract

We analyze ground state properties of few-nucleons systems and $^{16}$O using \eftnopi (Pionless Effective Field Theory) at \ac{LO}. This is the first time the theory is extended to many-body nuclear systems. The free constants of the interaction are fitted using both experimental data and \ac{LQCD} results. The nuclear many-body Schr\"odinger equation is solved by means of the Auxiliary Field Diffusion Monte Carlo method. A linear optimization procedure has been used to recover the correct structure of the ground state wavefunction. {\eftnopi} as revealed to be an appropriate theory to describe light nuclei both in nature, and in the case where heavier quarks are used in order to make \ac{LQCD} calculation feasible. Our results are in good agreement with experiments and \ac{LQCD} predictions. In our \ac{LO} calculation, $^{16}$O appears to be unstable against breakup into four $^4$He for the quark masses considered.