Separable Representation of Proton-Nucleus Optical Potentials

TL;DR

This paper introduces a generalized separable representation method for proton-nucleus scattering matrices in momentum space, facilitating three-body reaction calculations involving Coulomb interactions.

Contribution

It extends the Ernst-Shakin-Thaler scheme to include Coulomb basis calculations for proton-nucleus scattering matrices, enabling more accurate three-body reaction modeling.

Findings

The method accurately reproduces S-matrix elements for p+^{48}Ca and p+^{208}Pb.

Comparison with coordinate space calculations shows good agreement.

The approach simplifies complex three-body nuclear reaction computations.

Abstract

Recently, a new approach for solving the three-body problem for (d,p) reactions in the Coulomb-distorted basis in momentum space was proposed. Important input quantities for such calculations are the scattering matrix elements for proton- and neutron-nucleus scattering. We present a generalization of the Ernst-Shakin-Thaler scheme in which a momentum space separable representation of proton-nucleus scattering matrix elements can be calculated in the Coulomb basis. The viability of this method is demonstrated by comparing S-matrix elements obtained for p$+^{48}$Ca and p$+^{208}$Pb for a phenomenological optical potential with corresponding coordinate space calculations.