Estimates and power counting in uniform matter with softened interactions

Modern softened nucleon-nucleon interactions are well-suited for perturbative many-body calculations, but a many-body power counting scheme is lacking. Estimates of diagrammatic contributions at finite density are important ingredients in such a scheme. Here we show how to make quantitative estimates of the particle-particle and hole-hole channel in uniform nuclear matter for soft interactions. We also use estimates to assess the role of normal-ordered three-body forces for a pure contact interaction.