Inelastic Scattering of ${}_{}{}^{12}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{C}$ on ${}_{}{}^{12}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{C}$

The elastic and inelastic scattering channels in the ${}_{}{}^{12}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{C}+$${}_{}{}^{12}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{C}$ interaction have been measured for the angles ${\theta }_{\mathrm{lab}}=15.5\mathrm{}°-50.5°$ over the energy range $E_{\mathrm{lab}}=40\mathrm{}-60$ MeV in steps of 1° and 500 keV, respectively. The strength of the single and mutual excitation of the first excited state (4.43 MeV, $2^{+}$) in ${}_{}{}^{12}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{C}$ was found to be comparable in magnitude to that of the elastic channel over the entire range of the measurement. The implications for the need of coupled-channel analysis of certain heavy-ion scattering systems are discussed, and comparisons between the predictions of certain coupled-channel reaction models and the data are presented.