Elastic Scattering of Protons, Deuterons, and Alpha Particles from Heavy Elements

Abstract

The elastic scattering of 7.8-Mev protons from ${\mathrm{Au}}^{197}$, 27.5-Mev alpha particles from ${\mathrm{Au}}^{197}$, and 15.2-Mev deuterons from ${\mathrm{Pb}}^{208}$ and ${\mathrm{Bi}}^{209}$ has been measured as a function of angle. Except for the proton scattering which bears a constant ratio to Coulomb scattering, the cross sections when plotted as a ratio to the Coulomb cross sections fall sharply below unity at an angle of about 50° for the alpha particles on gold and about 30° for the deuterons on lead and bismuth. The absolute cross section for elastic scattering of 15.2-Mev deuterons from gold at 30° is equal to the Coulomb value within 20%, the energy variation is proportional to $E^{-2\mathrm{}}$ from 15.2 to 8.5 Mev to within 6%, also at 30°.