New test of the nuclear statistical model

High resolution proton resonance measurements provide a new test of the nuclear statistical model. For a sequence of levels with the same spin and parity the width correlation rho sub(W) and the amplitude correlation rho sub(A) are determined separately for the inelastic decay channels. The observed correlations average about 0.5 and are ascribed to direct reactions between the inelastic channels. For a multivariate Gaussian distribution rho2sub(A)/rhosub(W) = 1. The present data provide the first opportunity to test this prediction directly. (author)