Study of continuum nuclear structure of 12C via (p,p'X) at intermediate energies

The inclusive 12C(p,p') and exclusive 12C(p,p'X) reactions have been studied with a beam energy of 156 MeV and for X = p and alpha. The study focuses on the (p,p'X) reaction mechanism and on the structure of 12C just above the particle-emission threshold, 14 < E_x < 28 MeV. Cross sections were simultaneously measured for all three reactions. The exclusive data were analyzed by making multiple-peak fits of the spectra and by Legendre-polynomial fits of the angular correlations. Multiple-peak fits were also made of the inclusive spectra. The resultant cross sections were compared to theoretical calculations. An analysis of the results shows that this region of E_x consists predominantly of resonant excitations, in contradiction to the findings of previous analyses.