On the effects of systematic errors in analysis of nuclear scattering data

The effects of systematic errors on elastic scattering differential cross-section data upon the assessment of quality fits to that data have been studied. Three cases are studied, namely the differential cross-section data sets from elastic scattering of 200 MeV protons from 12C, of 350 MeV 16O-16O scattering and of 288.6 MeV 12C-12C scattering. First, to estimate the probability of any unknown systematic errors, select sets of data have been processed using the method of generalized cross validation; a method based upon the premise that any data set should satisfy an optimal smoothness criterion. In another case, the S function that provided a statistically significant fit to data, upon allowance for angle variation, became overdetermined. A far simpler S function form could then be found to describe the scattering process. The S functions so obtained have been used in a fixed energy inverse scattering study to specify effective, local, Schroedinger potentials for the collisions. An error analysis has been performed on the results to specify confidence levels for those interactions. 19 refs., 6 tabs., 15 figs