Physical meaning of the phase of high energy elastic scattering amplitude

Once more on Coulomb-nuclear interference

“…In holographic terminology, the Coulomb interaction between colliding hadrons serves an analogue of "mirror" giving the "reference wave" (the proton scattered via Coulomb exchange) whose interference with the "illuminating wave" (the proton scattered by strong forces) is to give a spatially complete image of an object due to recording of the relative phase. Unfortunately, the interval of scattering angles where such interference is well seen is quite narrow but, nonetheless, analysis of the differential cross-section in this interval is capable to give us some very important information on the phase of the strong interaction amplitude [1].…”