Microscopic theory of inelastic nucleon scattering: Generalized mass and transition operators

We present a fully consistent microscopic theory of inelastic nucleon scattering. Our approach enables us to calculate consistently, using many-body techniques, both the generalized optical potential for the elastic channel and the transition potential for the inelastic process. The inelastic transition amplitude is given, quite generally, in terms of the transition potential and the elastic channel wave function. The theory gives a prescription for the effective force to be used in the calculation of the transition potential within the framework of a T-matrix approximation. The structure of the transition amplitude allows us to get a closed form for the inclusive nucleon cross section in terms of the target structure function. (orig.)