Nuclear level schemes for the light nuclei

The interaction between nucleons. Detailed calculations of nuclear structure and in particular the estimation of the energies of excited states, must be based on knowledge of the force between nucleons in a nucleus. Since no experiment gives directly the properties of this force, it is customary to make certain definite assumptions and to see how far experimental results can be so explained The first assumptions, against which there is no evidence, are that the 

1 Details on this problem are given in Hulthj n and Sugawara s article, Vol. XXXIX of this Encyclopedia. 

Peierls Sixth Rutherford Lecture The atomic nucleus and its constituents. Proc. Phys. Soc. Lond. A 66, 313 (1953). 

The exchange properties are included in the nucleon-nucleon interaction by writing 

1 There is evidence from high energy experiments that the intemucleon force becomes repulsive at very small distances. 

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