Nucleon Momentum Distributions in Deuterium and Carbon Inferred from Proton Scattering

Nuclear internal momentum distributions of deuterium, carbon, and oxygen are inferred from the energy distributions of the protons obtained at various scattering angles when 340-Mev protons are incident on these nuclei. The energy spectra of the protons from deuterium agree with the spectra obtained theoretically by using the deuteron nucleon momentum distribution given by the Fourier transform of the Hulth\'en wave function. Unfortunately, the experimental method is not so good as to distinguish differences in the portion of the deuteron wave function within the potential interaction. Protons obtained from carbon and oxygen have energy spectra that are consistent with the use of a Gaussian nucleon momentum density distribution having a 1/e value corresponding to a nucleon energy of 16±{}3 Mev.Proton yields from deuterium nearly equal those expected from free proton-nucleon collisions. Oxygen gives proton yields in the spectral regions investigated that are 16/12 times the corresponding yields from carbon.