  Several nucleon-nucleon potentials, Paris, Nijmegen, Argonne, and those
derived by quantum inversion, which describe the NN interaction for T-lab below
300$ MeV are extended in their range of application as NN optical models.
Extensions are made in r-space using complex separable potentials definable
with a wide range of form factor options including those of boundary condition
models. We use the latest phase shift analyses SP00 (FA00, WI00) of Arndt et
al. from 300 MeV to 3 GeV to determine these extensions. The imaginary parts of
the optical model interactions account for loss of flux into direct or resonant
production processes. The optical potential approach is of particular value as
it permits one to visualize fusion, and subsequent fission, of nucleons when
T-lab above 2 GeV. We do so by calculating the scattering wave functions to
specify the energy and radial dependences of flux losses and of probability
distributions. Furthermore, half-off the energy shell t-matrices are presented
as they are readily deduced with this approach. Such t-matrices are required
for studies of few- and many-body nuclear reactions.
