Scattering and Absorption of Pi-Mesons in Carbon

Abstract

The interactions of positive and negative pi-mesons of 62 Mev with carbon nuclei were studied in a magnet cloud chamber, using the external beams of the Nevis cyclotron. A Coulomb-nuclear interference is observed in the elastic scattering. This establishes that the nuclear potential is attractive for mesons. Nuclear cross sections obtained are ${\sigma }_{\mathrm{abs}}=181\mathrm{}\pm 22$ mb, ${\sigma }_{\mathrm{el}\mathrm{sc}}=148\mathrm{}\pm 30$ mb. A complex square well model for the nucleus is considered.