The finite Pauli repulsion model of Walliser and Nakaichi-Maeda and the orthogonality condition model are two microscopically motivated potential models for the description of nuclear collisions which, however, differ from each other in the way they incorporate antisymmetrization effects into the nucleus-nucleus interaction. We have used α+α scattering at low energies as a tool to distinguish between the two different treatments of the Pauli principle. Both models are consistent with the presently available on-shell (elastic) and off-shell (bremsstrahlung) data. We suggest further measurements of α+α bremsstrahlung including the coplanar laboratory differential cross section in Harvard geometry at α-particle angles of around 27° and the γ-decay width of the $4^{+}$ resonance at $E_{\mathrm{c}.\mathrm{m}.\mathrm{}=11.4\mathrm{}}$ MeV, because in both cases the two models make significantly different predictions.

• Received 17 November 1986

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.35.1631