Probing the densities of the Sn isotopes

Proton and neutron densities have been obtained for the even-even isotopes of Sn from $^{100}$Sn to $^{176}$Sn using a Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov model with a Skyrme interaction. The matter densities so defined have been used with realistic nucleon-nucleon interactions in a folding model to specify optical potentials for the elastic scattering of protons with energies in the range 40 to 200 MeV. Those potentials have been used to make predictions of the differential cross sections and spin observables for proton scattering. As the target mass increases, the emergence of the neutron skin in the Sn isotopes is revealed by marked effects in the differential cross section. Comparisons with available data show how similar scattering data for the neutron-rich isotopes may provide constraints for the model structures.