Theoretical investigation of giant resonances by inelastic proton scattering

A fully microscopic, antisymmetrized DWBA analysis of (p, p') spectra in the giant resonance region of ¹⁶O, ⁴⁰Ca and ²⁰⁸Pb is presented. The nuclear structure information is derived from RPA wave functions calculated in large configuration spaces. The theoretical spectra are in general in agreement with the experimental results. A new interpretation follows from our. investigation for the spectrum of the giant dipole region in the heavy nuclei: This resonance structure is mainly due to the breathing mode, whereas the electric dipole contribution is much smaller.