Search for experimental evidence of chaotic behavior in nuclear scattering

Angular distributions for the elastic and inelastic scattering in the 16O + 28Si system have been measured in two energy regions, one close to the Coulomb barrier and the other well above. Fine steps in both bombarding energy and scattering angle make it possible to compare the data with the theoretical calculations that predict, for each of these regions, distinctive cross-section patterns in correspondence with the classical occurrence of either regular or chaotic regimes. The experimental results show specific differences between the two explored energy ranges in qualitative agreement with the theoretical predictions.