Electromagnetic interaction of polarized neutrons with heavy nuclei

A facility for the production of 10 MeV polarized neutrons was designed and built. Neutron polarization and cross section can be measured over an angular range of 2-100 deg. This facility has been used to measure the polarization and cross section of 10 MeV neutrons scattered from Pb and Bi in an angular range of 1.5 to 65 deg. For small angles no significant difference was found in the results for Pb and Bi. DWBA calculations using only the nuclear and Mott-Schwinger ineractions give good agreement with the data. Comparison of the experimental results with predictions using three different global optical potentials proved that the Becchetti and Greenlees potential can best describe both the differential cross section and polarization in the scattering of 10 MeV neutrons from heavy elements. (LL)