Polarization transfer in the (p,p′) reaction on light nuclei

A high-efficiency, high-resolution polarimeter has been employed to measure the transverse spin-flip probability in ($p,p^{\prime }$) reactions induced by polarized protons in the energy range from 30 to 42 MeV. The spin-flip probability for central forces is shown to be uniquely related to spin transfer ($s=1\mathrm{}$) in the eikonal approximation. More exact calculations indicate the general rule $S\ge 0.5$ when $s=1\mathrm{}$ and $S\le 0.1$ when $s=0\mathrm{}$. Antisymmetrized distorted-wave calculations give a generally poor account of spin transfer in isoscalar transitions and transitions in odd mass nuclei. Spin flip in isovector transitions is well described by the calculations.