  The single-nucleon potential in hot nuclear matter is investigated in the
framework of the Brueckner theory by adopting the realistic Argonne V18 or
Nijmegen 93 two-body nucleon-nucleon interaction supplemented by a microscopic
three-body force. The rearrangement contribution to the single-particle
potential induced by the ground state correlations is calculated in terms of
the hole-line expansion of the mass operator and provides a significant
repulsive contribution in the low-momentum region around and below the Fermi
surface. Increasing temperature leads to a reduction of the effect, while
increasing density makes it become stronger. The three-body force suppresses
somewhat the ground state correlations due to its strong short-range repulsion,
increasing with density. Inclusion of the three-body force contribution results
in a quite different temperature dependence of the single-particle potential at
high enough densities as compared to that adopting the pure two-body force. The
effects of three-body force and ground state correlations on the nucleon
effective mass are also discussed.
