SPIN DEGREES AND POLARIZATION OBSERVABLES IN ELECTROMAGNETIC REACTIONS

Abstract

After a brief introduction into the general importance of polarization observables for the analysis of a reaction, the basic density matrix formalism for the description of polarization phenomena is outlined and illustrated by explicit examples for spin one-half and one. Then various electromagnetic processes like photoreactions and electron scattering are discussed in some detail. Finally, the question of how to determine a complete set of polarization observables providing the maximum information on a reaction is considered.