Closed-form quantal description of inelastic heavy ion scattering

The amplitude for inelastic heavy ion scattering, given by the distorted-wave theory for excitation of low-lying collective states, is evaluated in closed form. Use is made of the Austern-Blair relation and of other approximations appropriate for strongly absorptive interaction to express the inelastic partial-wave amplitude entirely in terms of the elastic S-matrix elements in the initial and final channels. The resulting formulae display explicitly the various contributions to the transition amplitude, whose superposition gives rise to the variety of interference patterns observable in the angular distributions and excitation functions of inelastic heavy ion scattering. It is shown that, as for elastic scattering, the dominant mechanism in inelastic heavy ion collisions near and above the Coulomb barrier is diffractive scattering of Fresnel type.