Possible contribution of a highly excited collective state to proton-nucleus multistep interactions at 300 MeV - art. no. 011601

Intermediate-energy nucleon-nucleus interactions were investigated in order to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of spallation reactions. Inc lusive C-12(p,p') spectra at 300 MeV were measured in a wide energy range a nd compared with two theoretical calculations: the quantum molecular dynami cs model and the intranuclear cascade model. The calculations are in good a greement with the experimental results ill the quasifree region. In the low er energy domain, however, the calculations underestimated the experimental results by a factor of about 2. The cause of the discrepancy was discussed in terms of a collective excitation process.