Proton inelastic scattering by rare-earth nuclei

The author surveys investigations on inelastic scattering of protons with an energy exceeding 10 MeV on excitation of low collective levels of rare-earth element nuclei. He discusses theoretical methods of analysis taking into account the strong coupling of channels, including approximate ones. New possibilities of such analysis are emphasized expecially when using polarized protons. The paper presents the parameters of the optical potential for the scattering of protons by spherical and deformed nuclei and the deformation parameters obtained in studies on electromagnetic processes, scattering of protons, deuterons, and α-particles