Cross sections

Abstract

The most widely discussed observable of nuclear reactions is the (unpolarized) cross section, which depends on the relative energy of the incident and the reaction angles of the outging particles. Therefore the general behavior of cross sections, especially at low energies, is discussed. From the appearance of excitation functions important features of the reaction mechanisms can be derived directly. In this chapter mainly a phenomenology of cross sections is given and illustrated by the most recent and most characteristic experimental examples available. The basic formulations and definitions for the description of cross sections are presented (Schrödinger equation, scattering amplitude, phase shift, optical theorem). © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.