Optical potential and nuclear deformation for even Nd isotopes from fast neutron scattering

Deformation effects in differential cross sections for neutron scattering from /sup 142,144,146,148,150/Nd have been studied at an incident energy of 7 MeV, where measurements and calculations of total cross sections show maximum differences for different deformations. Differential cross sections were obtained for elastic scattering and inelastic scattering to the first 2/sup +/ states of the five isotopes. The experimental cross sections are compared to the predictions of surface excitation models using coupled-channels calculations. The parameters of the model are adjusted to fit low energy scattering properties and total cross sections for incident energies from 0.7 to 14 MeV as well as the present data. The large set of data tightly constrains all parameters, including the quadrupole deformation parameters. These are compared to those obtained using other probes of the nuclear surface.