Evidence for a novel spin dependence in the nucleus-nucleus interaction

It is demonstrated that in polarized heavy-ion scattering the effects of a second-rank spin-dependent interaction depending quadratically on momentum (T/sub p/-type) can be clearly distinguished from the more usual T/sub R/-type tensor interaction which depends quadratically on position. A simple criterion involving the ratio of two components of the tensor analyzing power for elastic scattering is proposed, and it is shown that the existing data for 7Li scattering from 58Ni offer the first evidence for a T/sub P/-type interaction in nuclear physics