Multiple Scattering and the Many-Body Problem—Applications to Photomeson Production in Complex Nuclei

A study is made of the scattering of fast particles by atomic nuclei. A rigorous (formal) solution to the many-body Schr\"odinger equation is given which has the structure of a multiply scattered wave. The relation of this solution to the "impulse approximation" is discussed. A decomposition of the wave function into "coherent" and "incoherent" parts is effected. This makes it possible to derive the familiar "optical models" directly, as well as to find systematic corrections to these models. The theory is applied to a discussion of photomeson production in complex nuclei.