Internal Excitation and Apparent Range of Nuclear Forces in Scattering Experiments

Abstract

The effect of a speculatively considered internal excitation of nucleons on the scattering of elementary particles is examined by means of a schematic model. It is found that the relation between the integral of the square of the wave function describing the normal nucleonic state and the apparent range of force differs from that expected on the ordinary potential energy description. The effect is of the order of eight percent if one assumes the excitation to be $275m{c}^2$. The direction of the effect is such as to decrease the apparent range as though the meson mass were increased, somewhat as indicated by a comparison of the mass of a pi-meson with experiments on scattering. A possible necessity of corrections for the velocity dependence of nuclear forces which is considered above is briefly discussed in connection with the correlation of data on scattering with that on binding energies.