Strong absorption model for elastic nuclear scattering and polarization of spin- 1 2 particles. Part I

The generalized strong-absorption model for elastic nuclear scattering permits a straightforward extension to describe the polarization of spin- 1 2 particles strongly interacting with nuclei. Explicit expressions are derived for the differential scattering cross section σ(θ), the polarization P(θ) and the total reaction cross section σr. The general expressions reduce in special cases to simple formulas which describe a variety of possible structures of the polarization angular distribution, corresponding to different physical situations. The cases for "neutral" and charged particles are treated separately. The former applies to the entrance channel phenomena of protons and neutrons in the energy region E {greater-than or approximate} 100 MeV. The latter is expected to describe possible future polarization measurements in the elastic nuclear scattering of composite spin- 1 2 particles such as He3, F19, etc. In the present paper the general formalism is developed and several special cases are considered. In two subsequent papers we shall, respectively, give an analysis of a complete set of high-energy proton scattering data, and discuss the connection between the present model and the complex potential model. © 1964.Articl