The quasi elastic (e,e'p) reaction on heavy nuclei

Measurements are discussed of the spectral function for the (e,e'p) reaction on 40,48Ca, 90Zr, 142,146Nd and 208Pb. In the experiment on 40Ca we studied the influence of various kinematical conditions on the deduced momentum distributions, as well as the dependence on the virtual photon momentum. For 90Zr the outgoing proton energy was varied between 61 and 165 MeV in order to investigate the role of the final-state interaction. In the case of the Nd isotopes we examined the effect of the deformation on the spectral function. For 208Pb the spectroscopic strengths have been obtained as a function of the binding energy of the single particle orbital. In all cases the resulting spectroscopic strengths and occupations are compared with various theories that include correlations and with results from the (d,3He) reaction. Finally the mass dependence of the quasi-particle strength for valence states is discussed in relation to nuclear matter theory. (author)