The application of inversion to nuclear scattering

We review the application of inverse scattering in nuclear physics. We emphasize the various ways in which inversion can be used to understand nuclear interactions, and survey the results that have been obtained. We discuss S → V inversion from both theoretical and experimentally fitted S-matrices as well as a new method for direct observable → V inversion. The various alternative approaches to inverse scattering are briefly reviewed, and their range of applicability is discussed. This is not a review of formal inversion methods, but the iterative perturbative (IP) approach is described in some detail together with a discussion of the physics results which have been obtained using it and other inversion methods. The case of p+4He scattering is presented in some detail as a case study exemplifying the kind of information which can now be obtained by the application of inverse scattering techniques. It also brings out the comparative properties of different inversion methods. (topical review)