A 385 MeV measurement of (p, 2p) cross sections in medium-weight and heavy nuclei

Abstract

Measurements of differential cross sections for (p, 2p) reaction at an incident proton energy of 385 MeV are interpreted in terms of a distorted momentum distribution for the struck proton in the original target nucleus. The target nuclei studied were 40Ca, 45Sc, 59Co, 58Ni, 120Sn, 208Pb and 209Bi. In all but the heaviest nuclei, the distorted momentum distribution varies with binding energy of the proton in such a way as to invite a simple shell-model interpretation. This simple interpretation indicates that the binding energy of the Is protons does not increase with mass number after it has reached a value near 55 MeV.