Extended optical model analyses for the 11B + 209Bi system at near-Coulomb-barrier energies

In the framework of an extended optical model approach in which the polarization potential is decomposed into direct-reaction (DR) and fusion parts, simultaneous c² \chi^{{2}}_{} analyses of elastic scattering and fusion cross-section data for the ¹¹B+ + ²⁰⁹Bi system at near-Coulomb-barrier energies are performed. We show that the DR and fusion potentials extracted from c² \chi^{{2}}_{} analyses separately satisfy the dispersion relation and that the threshold anomaly exhibits in both DR and fusion parts. We find that the analyses using only elastic scattering and fusion data can produce reliable predictions of cross-sections even though the direct reaction cross-section data are not complete. By using the extracted DR potential, we investigate the effects of the projectile breakup on fusion cross-sections.     

Elastic scattering of 11B from 209Bi in the energy range 49.8 ⩽ E ⩽ 84.1 MeV

The elastic scattering of ¹¹B from ²⁰⁹Bi has been measured at laboratory energies of 49.8, 51.3, 52.2, 52.8, 54.3, 55.8, 59.8, 64.8, 69.8, 74.8 and 84.1 MeV. These data have been analyzed using a microscopic optical model and the energy dependence of the real and the imaginary parts of the optical potential at near barrier energies has been determined. The “threshold anomaly” observed in the real part of the potential is found to be consistent with the dispersion relation which connects the real and the imaginary parts of the potential. Inelastic scattering and transfer reactions have also been measured at energies of 51.3, 55.8, 59.8 and 74.8 MeV. DWBA calculations for the 3⁻ state in ²⁰⁹Bi are made. From the measured transfer probabilities, using a semiclassical approach the strength of the form factors have been obtained. The fusion cross sections have been derived at these energies from the corresponding quasi-elastic scattering angular distribution data. The fusion cross sections calculated using the energy dependent barriers extracted from the energy dependent real parts of the potential compare well with, that determined from quasi-elastic scattering data and are also in good agreement with simplified coupled channels calculation for fusion incorporating important inelastic and transfer channels.     

Heavy ion reactions around the Coulomb barrier

The angular distributions of fission fragments for the ³²S+¹⁸⁴W reaction near Coulomb barrier energies are measured. The experimental fission excitation function is obtained. The measured fission cross sections are decomposed into fusion-fission, quasi-fission and fast fission contributions by the dinuclear system (DNS) model. The hindrance to completing fusion both at small and large collision energies is explained. The fusion excitation functions of ³²S+^90,96Zr in an energy range from above to below the Coulomb barrier are measured and analyzed within a semi-classical model. The obvious effect of positive Q-value multi-neutron transfers on the sub-barrier fusion enhancement is observed in the ³²S+⁹⁶Zr system. In addition, the excitation functions of quasi-elastic scattering at a backward angle have been measured with high precision for the systems of ¹⁶O + ²⁰⁸Pb, ¹⁹⁶Pt, ¹⁸⁴W, and ^154,152Sm at energies well below the Coulomb barrier. Considering the deformed coupling effects, the extracted diffuseness parameters are close to the values extracted from the systematic analysis of elastic and inelastic scattering data. The elastic scattering angular distribution of ¹⁷F+¹²C at 60 MeV is measured and calculated by using the continuum-discretized coupled-channels (CDCC) approach. It is found that the diffuseness parameter of the real part of core-target potential has to be increased by 20% to reproduce the experimental result, which corresponds to an increment of potential depth at the surface region. The breakup cross section and the coupling between breakup and elastic scattering are small.     

The 12C+24Mg elastic scattering: An example of anomalous transparency at coulomb barrier energies

Fifteen complete angular distributions of the elastic scattering of ¹²C+²⁴Mg were measured at energies around the Coulomb barrier (E_cm = 10.67–16 MeV). The angular distributions are strongly oscillating and could be well described by an optical potential family, whose real part was determined without continuous ambiguity. The imaginary part of this optical potential is very shallow. At four energies the inelastic scattering angular distributions leading to the 2⁺ state of the ²⁴Mg were also measured and analysed with coupled-channels calculations. The volume integrals of the optical potentials used in the coupled-channels calculations present the threshold anomaly in their energy dependence, with a clear Q-value dependence.     

Angular distributions and cross-sections of projectile-like fragments in the 19F + 159Tb reaction

The angular distribution of projectile-like fragments (PLFs) in the ¹⁹F + ¹⁵⁹Tb reaction have been measured at beam energy equal to 98MeV. Angular distributions of PLFs showed a systematic change with increasing mass transfer, starting from the peaking at grazing angle for heavier PLFs to very forward peaked angular distributions for lighter PLFs. Cross-sections of the different PLFs were obtained by integrating their centre-of-mass angular distributions. The PLF cross-sections have been compared with the incomplete fusion cross-sections obtained from the earlier measurement of the evaporation residue cross-section. Reduced cross-sections for lighter PLFs were observed to be higher compared to those observed in ¹⁹F + ⁶⁶Zn reaction at similar values of E _cm/V _b. Also, elastic scattering measurements were carried out to get information about the grazing angle and total reaction cross-section.     

Influence of breakup on elastic and α-production channels in the ~6Li+~(116)Sn reaction

The effects of breakup reactions on elastic and α-production channels for the ~6Li+~(116)Sn system have been investigated at energies below and near the Coulomb barrier. The angular distributions of α-particle production differential cross sections have been obtained at several projectile energies between 22 and 40 MeV. The measured breakup α-particle differential cross sections and elastic scattering angular distributions have been compared with the predictions of continuum-discretized coupled channels(CDCC) calculations. The influence of breakup coupling has also been investigated by extracting dynamic polarization potentials(DPP) from the CDCC calculations. From the predictions of CDCC calculations the relative importance of the nuclear, Coulomb, and total breakup contributions have also been investigated. The nuclear breakup couplings are observed to play an important role in comparison to the Coulomb breakup for the direct breakup mechanisms associated in the reaction of ~6Li projectile with ~(116)Sn target nuclei. The influence of strong nuclear breakup coupling exhibits suppression in the Coulomb-nuclear interference peak. The direct breakup cross sections from the CDCC calculations under-predict the measured α-particle differential cross sections at all energies. This suggests that the measured α particles may also have contributions from other possible breakup reaction channels.     

Strong coupling effects in near-barrier heavy-ion elastic scattering

Accurate elastic scattering angular distribution data measured at bombarding energies just above the Coulomb barrier have shapes that can markedly differ from or be the same as the expected classical Fresnel scattering pattern depending on the structure of the projectile, the target or both. Examples are given such as ¹⁸O + ¹⁸⁴W and ¹⁶O + ^{148, 152}Sm, where the expected rise above Rutherford scattering due to Coulomb-nuclear interference is damped by coupling to the target excited states, and the extreme case of ¹¹Li scattering, where coupling to the ⁹Li + n + n continuum leads to an elastic scattering shape that cannot be reproduced by any standard optical model parameter set. An early indication that the projectile structure can modify the elastic scattering angular distribution was the large vector analyzing powers observed in polarised ⁶Li scattering. The recent availability of high-quality ⁶He, ¹¹Li and ¹¹Be data provides further examples of the influence that coupling effects can have on elastic scattering. Conditions for strong projectile-target coupling effects are presented with special emphasis on the importance of the beam-target charge combination being large enough to bring about the strong coupling effects. Several measurements are proposed that can lead to further understanding of strong coupling effects by both inelastic excitation and nucleon transfer on near-barrier elastic scattering. A final note on the anomalous nature of ⁸B elastic scattering is presented as it possesses a more or less normal Fresnel scattering shape whereas one would a priori not expect this due to the very low breakup threshold of ⁸B . The special nature of ¹¹Li is presented as it is predicted that no matter how far above the Coulomb barrier the elastic scattering is measured, its shape will not appear as Fresnel like whereas the elastic scattering of all other loosely bound nuclei studied to date should eventually do so as the incident energy is increased, making both ⁸B and ¹¹Li truly “exotic”.     

Low-energy nuclear reactions with double-solenoid-based radioactive nuclear beam

The University of Notre Dame, USA (Becchetti et al, Nucl. Instrum. Methods Res. A505, 377 (2003) and later the University of São Paulo, Brazil (Lichtenthaler et al, Eur. Phys. J. A25, S-01, 733 (2005)) adopted a system based on superconducting solenoids to produce low-energy radioactive nuclear beams. In these systems the solenoids act as thick lenses to collect, select, and focus the secondary beam into a scattering chamber. Many experiments with radioactive light particle beams (RNB) such as ⁶He, ⁷Be, ⁸Li, ⁸B have been performed at these two facilities. These low-energy RNB have been used to investigate low-energy reactions such as elastic scattering, transfer and breakup, providing useful information on the structure of light nuclei near the drip line and on astrophysics. Total reaction cross-sections, derived from elastic scattering analysis, have also been investigated for light system as a function of energy and the role of breakup of weakly bound or exotic nuclei is discussed.     

Interaction of loosely bound radioactive 7Be and stable 7Li with 9Be

Quasielastic scattering angular distributions have been measured for the ⁷Be + ⁹Be system at E _lab = 17 , 19 and 21MeV in the angular range $ \theta_{{cm}}^{}$ = 24^° - 57^° . An optical model (OM) analysis of these data has been carried out in order to extract optical potential parameters and reaction cross-sections. One-proton stripping cross-sections were also measured for this system at E _lab = 19 and 21MeV. These transfer angular-distribution data were compared with the finite-range distorted-wave Born approximation (FRDWBA) calculations. For the ⁷Li + ⁹Be system quasielastic scattering angular distributions were measured and emitted light charged particles were detected at E _lab = 15.75 , 24.00 and 30.00MeV in the angular range $ \theta_{{cm}}^{}$ = 7^° - 70^° . Fusion cross-sections were obtained by reproducing the measured $ \alpha$ -evaporation spectra from the compound nucleus at backward angles with the statistical model calculations. The ratios of the experimental fusion cross-sections to the total reaction cross-sections (obtained from OM analysis) were found to be small. This result suggests that the break-up process has a strong influence on the fusion process leading to a reduction in the fusion cross-section.     

Near-barrier fusion, breakup and scattering for the Be + Sm system

Fusion, breakup and scattering for the ⁹Be + ¹⁴⁴Sm system at near barrier energies are investigated by different approaches. We show that at energies above the barrier there is a small complete fusion suppression when compared with predictions from a double folding potential and with a similar tightly bound system. At sub-barrier energies there is no significant deviation from the predictions using coupled channel calculations that do not include the breakup channel. The energy dependence of the optical potential does not show the usual threshold anomaly found in tightly bound systems. From a simultaneous analysis of fusion and scattering data we estimate the distance where breakup starts to occur.     

Global optical model potentials for symmetrical lithium systems: 6Li+6Li, 7Li+7Li at Elab = 5–40 MeV

Angular distributions of ⁶Li+⁶Li elastic scattering were measured for E_lab = 5–40 MeV. An optical model analysis of these data together with older data of ⁷Li+⁷Li elastic scattering taken at E_lab = 8–17 MeV was performed with the aim to search for a “global” OM potential which describes elastic scattering in both LiLi systems in a broad energy range. Both surface and volume absorbing potentials can be found which fulfill this requirement if a linear energy dependence is assumed of the depths of the real as well as the imaginary potential. These depths, if fitted to individual angular distributions, are found to vary in a correlated manner with the beam energy. This is taken as indication of strong coupling between elastic, inelastic, and reaction channels. This is corroborated by the existence of resonances in reaction channels at these energies where the potential depths are most pronouncedly changing.     

Elastic scattering and reactions of light exotic beams

The present work provides a literature survey of elastic scattering of exotic nuclei from ⁶He to ¹⁷F. It presents a set of definitions that allow different analyses to be put into a common language. A calculational approach is proposed that yields consistent results across different beams and targets so that conclusions concerning the influence of virtual and real breakup as well as transfer couplings on the elastic scattering may be drawn. Calculations of elastic scattering around the Coulomb barrier are emphasised, employing a Pb target whose large Z allows the interplay between nuclear and Coulomb forces to be exploited to maximise possible effects arising from proton or neutron haloes or skins. A series of test calculations is performed and where possible compared to data, demonstrating that there are instances where coupling to transfer channels can have a large effect on the elastic scattering angular distributions. By careful choice of target/beam combination, different aspects of the coupling effects may be emphasised.     

Coupling effects of resonant and discretized non-resonant continuum states in 4He + 6Li scattering at 10 MeV/A

Alpha-particle scattering from the resonant (3 ₁ ⁺ ) and non-resonant continuum states of ⁶Li is studied at incident energy 10 MeV/A. The α + d breakup continuum part within the excitation energy E _ex = 1.475–2.475 MeV is discretized in two energy bins. Unlike the results at higher incident energies, here the coupled-channel calculations show significant breakup continuum coupling effects on the elastic and inelastic scattering. It is shown that even when the continuum-continuum coupling effects are strong, the experimental data of the ground state and the resonant as well as discretized non-resonant continuum states impose stringent constraint on the coupling strengths of the non-resonant continuum states.     

Determination of proton-deuteron scattering lengths

An energy dependent phase-shift analysis of p+d elastic scattering below the deuteron breakup threshold has been conducted. The analysis indicates the existence of a singularity in the doublet S-wave effective range function, resulting in a very small value for the scattering length ²a_pd. The inferred value of the quartet S-wave scattering length ⁴a_pd is in good agreement with theoretical predictions.     

Coupling effects of resonant and discretized non-resonant continuum states in4He +6Li scattering at 10 MeV/A

Alpha- particle scattering from the resonant (3 ₁ ⁺ ) and non-resonant continuum states of⁶Li is studied at incident energy 10 MeV/A. Theα+d breakup continuum part within the excitation energyE _ex=1.475–2.475 MeV is discretized in two energy bins. Unlike the results at higher incident energies, here the coupled-channel calculations show significant breakup continuum coupling effects on the elastic and inelastic scattering. It is shown that even when the continuum-continuum coupling effects are strong, the experimental data of the ground state and the resonant as well as discretized non-resonant continuum states impose stringent constraint on the coupling strengths of the non-resonant continuum states.     

Quasi-elastic scattering of the proton drip line nucleus 17F on 12C at 60 MeV

The quasi-elastic scattering angular distribution of the proton drip line nucleus ¹⁷F on a ¹²C target was measured at 60 MeV. The experimental data have been compared with the theoretical analysis based onto optical model and continuum discretized coupled channels (CDCC). The couplings between breakup and elastic scattering channels, and between inelastic and elastic scattering channels resulted very weak. In order to explore the breakup effects the total reaction cross-section was deduced from the angular distribution of the quasi-elastic scattering data, and then compared with the existing data for the other weakly and tightly bound nuclei on ¹²C target using a universal function. From this comparison, we concluded that the breakup effect is not important for weakly bound projectiles on the light target as obtained also with the CDCC analysis.     

12C induced transfer reactions on 56Fe

Transfer reactions ⁵⁶Fe(¹²C, xN) have been investigated. Angular distributions of particles following elastic scattering, one neutron and one proton transfer reaction channels leading to low lying states in respective residual nuclei have been measured. These are analysed using the coupled reaction channel (CRC) formalism. Starting with a double folded real potential, the elastic scattering angular distribution is calculated using the computer code FRESCO. Inclusion of couplings to first excited states in both the target and the projectile already tends to describe the experimental elastic scattering distribution. Additional coupling of one neutron transfer reaction to first five excited states in ⁵⁵Fe and one proton transfer reaction to first three low lying states in ⁵⁷Co improves fit to the elastic scattering angular distribution. Further refinement in fit is brought about by addition of a weak imaginary potential to the complex potential calculated by ERESCO to simulate the absorption effects due to those channels whose coupling is not included explicitly. Such a potential describes the experimental angular distributions for elastic, one neutron and one proton transfer channels correctly in shape and magnitude without any arbitrary normalisation.     

Strong reaction channels at barrier energies in the system 6Li + 208Pb

Large cross-section reaction channels were measured in the systems ⁶Li( ⁷Li) + ²⁰⁸Pb with high statistical accuracy at 5(3) energies around the Coulomb barrier from 29 to 39 MeV. These channels were assigned (mainly) to the breakup of ⁶Li, very loosely bound, into α + d and to the breakup of ⁵Li, produced by n-transfer to the target, into α + p and to similar processes with ⁷Li beam. The cross-sections with ⁶Li, S _α = 1.475 MeV, are systematically larger than the ⁷Li ones. This reflects, most likely, the higher binding energy of ⁷Li, S _α = 2.468 MeV. Theoretical predictions for the ⁶Li + ²⁰⁸Pb system which include for ⁶Li breakup to continuum states within a continuum discretized coupled-channels approach (CDCC) and resonant breakup plus n-transfer with DWBA reproduce the angular distribution shapes but still underestimate the cross-sections by a factor ∼ 3. Received: 15 January 2001 / Accepted: 3 March 2001