Polarization of Protons Elastically Scattered from Nuclei

Abstract

The polarization of 130-Mev protons elastically scattered from Be, C, Al, and Fe has been calculated by means of the optical model of the nucleus, including a spin-orbit coupling term. The results are in reasonable agreement with the measurements of Dickson, Rose, and Salter. Calculations were also carried out for proton energies of 50 Mev and 90 Mev, in order to explain the rapid decrease of the polarization as the energy is decreased below 130 Mev. By using a central potential whose real part decreases with increasing proton energy between 50 Mev and 130 Mev, reasonably good agreement was obtained for the dependence of the polarization on energy for Be and C.