Relativistic DWBA calculations for polarization transfer in proton inelastic scattering

The matrix element for inelastic scattering of protons leading to the excitation of collective states in even-even nuclei is calculated in the framework of Dirac phenomenology using a DWBA approach. The deformed parts of the Lorentz scalar and four-vector optical potentials serve as the transition operators. The results are compared with the recently measured polarization transfer coefficients on ⁴⁰Ca and ²⁰⁸Pb at 500 MeV. The agreement with experiment is good.