Rotational nuclear models and electron scattering

A review is made of the basic formalism involved in the application of nuclear rotational models to the problem of electron scattering from axially symmetric deformed nuclei. Emphasis is made on the use of electron scattering to extract information on the nature of the collective rotational model. In this respect, the interest of using polarized beam and target is discussed with the help of illustrative examples. Concerning the nuclear structure four rotational models are considered: Two microscopic models, namely the Projected Hartree-Fock (PHF) and cranking models; and two collective models, the rigid rotor and the irrotational flow models. The problem of current conservation within the different models is also discussed. (orig.)