Excitation of Isovector Modes in Very Neutron-Rich Nuclei Via Heavy-Ion Isoscalar Probes

The existence of a neutron skin in neutron-rich nuclei is discussed in connection with the excitation of isovector dipole and quadrupole giant modes via isoscalar nuclear probes. In the case of large neutron excess, important contributions are obtained from the nuclear excitation, which may even become predominant according to proper kinematical conditions. At variance with the usual situation encountered in inelastic processes, constructive interference can be found between nuclear and Coulomb contributions. © 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.