  Coherent Compton scattering on light nuclei in the delta resonance region is
studied in the impulse approximation and is shown to be a sensitive probe of
the in-medium properties of the delta resonance. The elementary amplitude on a
single nucleon is calculated from the unitary K-matrix approach developed
previously. Modifications of the properties of the delta resonance due to the
nuclear medium are accounted for through the self-energy operator of the delta,
calculated from the one-pion loop. The dominant medium effects such as the
Pauli blocking, mean-field modification of the nucleon and delta masses, and
particle-hole excitations in the pion propagator are consistently included in
nuclear matter.
