Exploring Pion-Induced High-Momentum Components in Nuclei via $(p,p^{\prime }\pi )$ Reactions

Abstract

Pion exchange plays a fundamental role in nuclear structure and is responsible for tensor correlations and high-momentum components in nuclei. The $(p,p^{\prime }\pi )$ reaction provides a unique opportunity to investigate pion dynamics under large-momentum-transfer conditions. Its three-body kinematics allows large momentum transfer to be achieved while keeping the excitation energy of the residual nucleus low. We investigate the kinematical properties of the ${}^{12}\mathrm{C}(p,p^{\prime }{\pi }^{+}{)}^{12}\mathrm{B}$ reaction using Lorentz-invariant three-body phase-space calculations. The calculations were performed for a 392-MeV proton beam assuming a constant transition amplitude. The resulting momentum-transfer map and phase-space distribution identify experimentally accessible regions of large momentum transfer and provide guidance for optimizing a double-arm spectrometer experiment at RCNP. The present study establishes a model-independent kinematical foundation for future investigations of pion-induced correlations, high-momentum components, and pion dynamics in nuclei.