Nuclear symmetry energy and the role of the tensor force

Using the Hellmann--Feynman theorem we analyze the contribution of the different terms of the nucleon-nucleon interaction to the nuclear symmetry energy $E_{sym}$ and the slope parameter $L$. The analysis is performed within the microscopic Brueckner--Hartree--Fock approach using the Argonne V18 potential plus the Urbana IX three-body force. We find that the main contribution to $E_{sym}$ and $L$ is due to the tensor component of the nuclear force.