Elastic and inelastic scattering of 0. 8 GeV polarized protons from /sup 24/Mg and /sup 26/Mg

Data on 800 MeV polarized proton scattering on /sup 24/Mg and /sup 26/Mg are presented. Angular distributions and analyzing power data have been extracted from fits to 26 peaks in the spectra for /sup 24/Mg and 23 peaks in /sup 26/Mg. Although there are a variety of shapes for the angular distributions, the analyzing power data for all states are positive and similar in magnitude and seem to be consistent with a two-body operator for the excitation with a spin structure much like that for the free proton-nucleon system. Evidence for a level in /sup 26/Mg at 8.03 MeV with J>4 is presented. Comparison between the observed angular distribution, coupled channels, and distorted wave Born approximation calculations, and the angular distributions of excited states in neighboring nuclei, support the assignment of J/sup ..pi../ = 5/sup -/ or 6/sup +/. Coupled channels calculations for the 0/sup +/, 2/sup +/, 4/sup +/, and 6/sup +/ members of the ground state rotational bands of /sup 24/Mg and /sup 26/Mg are compared to the data. Deformation parameters from distorted wave Born approximation calculations are determined for most of the angular distributions.