Tensor representation of the nucleon-nucleon amplitude

Many approaches to nucleon-nucleus elastic and inelastic scattering are based on the use of the free-space nucleon-nucleon transition amplitude. In calculations where the full spin dependence of this amplitude is needed, its use is more tractable when it is expressed in terms of irreducible tensor operators of the spins of the interacting nucleons. We present general formulas for this representation, which is particularly useful for inelastic scattering studies involving spin-flip transitions of a target nucleon.