Finite-range effects in pionic atoms

Pionic atom data are refitted in terms of conventional π^? nuclear optical potentials, modified to allow for finite range in the underlying p-wave πN interaction. We find that level shifts and widths in light and medium-weight nuclei cannot distinguish between the various ranges tested. In heavy nuclei, and for reasonable choices of neutron radii, the data tend to exclude ranges of order 0.5 fm and larger.