High energy elastic and inelastic p-12C scattering and nuclear deformation

Starting from a microscopic deformed picture of the ¹²C nucleus, and using angular momentum projected wave functions, the elastic and inelastic 1 GeV p-scattering differential cross sections have been analysed within the framework of the Glauber theory. From a comparison of the results obtained in a full Glauber calculation and in the optical limit, it has been shown that the elastic scattering and, to a lesser extent, the transition to the 2⁺(4.44 MeV) level are only weakly affected by the long-range correlations. In contrast the scattering to the 4⁺(14.08 MeV) state includes crucial multi-step contributions which affect the differential cross section both in shape and magnitude. Similarly the corrections to the DWIA are essential for the transition to the 3^?(9.64 MeV) state and a satisfactory explanation of the qualitative differences observed between the 2⁺ and 3^? inelastic cross sections in ¹²C is given. The great sensitivity of the cross sections to the nuclear deformation is shown and a generally good agreement with experiment for both the electron form factors and 1 GeV p cross sections has been obtained for the ground-state intraband transitions using a single oblate intrinsic state. The importance of a correct treatment of the rotational motion through the angular momentum projection is underlined and the use of the adiabatic approxmation is critically examined.