The presented material could be used as a guide to understanding elements of modern nuclear reactions at intermediate proton energies. Such a guide, in the author’s opinion, can eliminate the existing gap in the available scientific literature.

The unnatural-parity transitions in nuclei are primarily determined by the spin-dependent NN amplitudes. Consequently, the polarization observables in the (p,p’) reactions turn out to be generally sensitive to the spin-orbit and the entire tensor components of the effective interaction NN. The observables expressed in terms of liner combinations of the Wolfenstein parameters (i.e. of the polarization transfer coefficients D_ij) may exhibit particularly important features. Therefore, according to a number of researchers, the combinations D_k, designed within the framework of the model of Bleszynski et al., if the conditions formed there are met, can create a useful diagnostic tool. Eventually, in favorable cases, in agreement with this model, certain combinations D_k  of the polarization transfer coefficients D_ij  may demonstrate selective dependence upon individual spin-dependent amplitudes (isoscalar or isovector) in the effective NN potential.

The values of the normal-component spin observables, A_y, P and D_NN are supplemented here with the double-scattering spin (polarization) transfer coefficients D_ij  in the (p,p’) reactions. Measurements with the polarized beam, normal to the scattering plane, usually provide the cross-section dϭ/dΩ (θ), the analyzing power A_y(θ), and the D_NN (θ) polarization transfer (PT) at certain angles. The (p,p’) measurements with in-plane polarization have yielded the transfer coefficients D_SS, D_SL, and D_LL, D_LS. Accordingly, the subscripts L and S refer to polarization along or perpendicular to the proton momentum, with the first subscript indicating the incoming momentum, and the second – the outgoing momentum. The coefficient D_ij appears to be quite sensitive to the effective interaction and its modification in the nuclear medium. Within the framework of the plane-wave approximation, the observables are divided into the so-called polarized cross-sections. To construct them, we used combinations of the polarized transfer coefficients D_ij within the model of Bleszynski et al. Under certain conditions, some particular combinations of the scattering observables can be attributed to specific (spin-dependent) amplitudes of the effective interaction. The lectures demonstrate how the polarization observables, acquired in the (p,p’) reactions, can be determined by the spin dependence of the nucleon-nucleon (NN) interaction. Thus, the spin-transfer parameters can be conveyed by simple expressions in the plane-wave impulse approximation (PWIA). As a result, the diagonal D_ij can be presented through the C, B, E, and F amplitudes in the NN interaction (as Moss has shown). The studies of Bleszynski et al. are of great importance as they have established certain combinations (D_k) in terms of the D_ij. When these conditions are met, the values D_k may appear sensitive primarily to an individual component in the NN interaction. Some of our works published in English and Russian are presented in Supplement 1. 

The lectures are intended for students studying experimental nuclear physics and engineering at universities and polytechnic schools. They could be used as a guide for understanding elements of quantum mechanics and nuclear physics. Such a guide can eliminate the existing gap in the available scientific literature.