Comparison of analyzing power predictions forppscattering in the Coulomb-nuclear interference region at 185.4 MeV

Recent measurements of the analyzing power Ay for elastic proton-proton scattering are compared to predictions of phase-shift analyses and potential models. One measurement is an absolute determination of Ay at a beam energy of 183.1 MeV. The second measurement is a precise determination of the angular distribution Ay({θ}) over the angular range θc.m.=5.45^∘{}--21.36^∘{} at a beam energy of 185.4 MeV. At these small angles the interference between the Coulomb and nuclear amplitudes dominates Ay({θ}). Potential model calculations without the electromagnetic spin-orbit force fail to reproduce the data. Phase-shift analyses, all of which include some form of the electromagnetic spin-orbit force, tend to have a better overall agreement with the data than the potential models.