High-Spin States in the (p,n) Reaction

In 1974, Moffa and Walker1 stressed that certain “exotic states” of relatively high spin should dominate medium-energy (p,p’) and (p,n) reactions at large momentum transfers. They predicted that the study of the excitation of these states would be important to determine the high-momentum transfer components of the nucleon-nucleon (N-N) effective interaction at medium energies. Since the discussion of Moffa and Walker, experimental studies of high-spin states have been performed with both the (p,p’) and (p,n) reactions. These studies are providing not only information regarding the high-momentum transfer components of the N-N effective interaction, but are also beginning to provide nuclear structure information.