Neutron–Proton Scattering Experiments at ANKE–COSY

Abstract

The nucleon–nucleon interaction (NN) is fundamental for the whole of nuclear physics and hence to the composition of matter as we know it. It has been demonstrated that stored, polarised beams and polarised internal targets are experimental tools of choice to probe spin effects in NN–scattering experiments. While the EDDA experiment has dramatically improved the proton–proton date base, information on spin observables in neutron–proton scattering is very incomplete above 800 MeV, resulting in large uncertainties in isoscalar n p phase shifts. Experiments at COSY, using a polarised deuteron beam or target, can lead to significant improvements in the situation through the study of quasi–free reactions on the neutron in the deuteron. Such a measurements has already been started at ANKE by using polarised deuterons on an unpolarised target to study the dp → {pp}n deuteron charge–exchange reaction and the full program with a polarised storage cell target just has been conducted. At low excitation energies of the final pp system, the spin observables are directly related to the spin– dependent parts of the neutron–proton charge–exchange amplitudes. Our measurement of the deuteron–proton spin correlations will allow us to determine the relative phases of these amplitudes in addition to their overall magnitudes.