The role of two particle-two hole excitations in the spin-isospin nuclear response

We investigate the role of the 2p-2h states in the spin-isospin nuclear response function. This is done in the frame of a microscopic approach which includes the meson exchange currents and the nucleon-nucleon correlation. We first test our theory on the transverse response in the inclusive deep inclastic electron scattering, where we achieve a satisfactory agreement with the data for values of the momentum transfer ranging from 1 to 2 fm^?1. We next explore the p-wave pion-nucleus absorptive optical potential. We find that a strong (～3) Lorentz-Lorenz-Ericson-Ericson quenching factor is needed to reproduce in our framework the phenomenological optical potential deduced from π-mesic atom data. We also examine the real photon absorption cross section accounting rather satisfactorily for its behaviour, in particular for the Pauli blocking at small frequencies. Finally, we elucidate the conditions for the existence of a connection between the magnetic photon absorption and the p-wave pion absorption in nuclei.