The variation of βR with probe in inelastic hadron scattering and the adequacy of first-order calculations

Abstract The predicted probe dependence of the collective parameter δ = βR , obtained from distorted wave analyses of inelastic scattering data, is shown to have been observed for a variety of hadrons from low to intermediate energies for 0 + → 2 + transitions in single-closed-shell nuclei. These results, when compared to electromagnetic data, show an internal consistency which provides both a check of the validity of the first-order reaction mechanism as well as a determination of the relative neutron to proton transition matrix elements to ≈15% accuracy. The empically determined systematically variation of neutron and proton transition strenghts are in agreement with a schematic calculation of core polarization.