The relativistic structure of the self-energy of a nucleon in nuclear
matter is investigated including the imaginary and real components whi
ch arise from the terms of first and second order in the NN interactio
n. A parameterized form of the Brueckner G-matrix is used for the NN i
nteraction. The effects of the terms beyond the DBHF approximation on
quasiparticle energies and the optical potential for nucleon-nucleus s
cattering are discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.