Search

This review is concerned with nuclear reactions and nuclear elastic scattering in which the spin polarization of more than one of the reactants is measured. If both of the particles whose polarization is known are in the initial channel, or both in the final channel, we refer to a `spin correlation' experiment; if one polarized particle is in the initial and one is in the final channel, we refer to a `polarization transfer' experiment. We consider mainly particles with spin ? and with spin 1; to a minor extent higher spins are included. The state of the art with respect to the production of polarized beams and targets and with respect to polarization analysing devices is briefly reviewed. A considerable amount of space is devoted to the definitions of cartesian polarization transfer and spin correlation coefficients which are suitable for the description of reactions involving spin ? and spin 1 particles. These parameters are generalizations of the triple scattering and spin correlation parameters introduced by Wolfenstein for a description of nucleon-nucleon scattering. Finally, the experiments of these types so far performed are reviewed. Reactions involving photons are excluded, and the nucleon-nucleon problem is only briefly mentioned. This review was completed in March 1972.

The production and detection of electron polarization are discussed in the context of low-energy collision phenomena. After a short summary of the history of the subject, the formalism of Stokes parameters is reviewed. Physical processes are surveyed in the following sequence: elastic collisions with spin zero targets (Mott scattering); spin exchange in elastic scattering from spin one-half targets; spin-orbit coupling effects and spin exchange in inelastic electron-atom collisions; photoionization; collisional ionization in atom-atom interactions. The phenomena are described in terms of the algebraic formalism developed in the earlier part of the paper and brief descriptions of experiments illustrate the methods used and the results obtained in testing theoretical predictions. This review was completed in November 1971.