Extraction of Astrophysical Cross Sectionsin the Trojan-Horse Method

 The Trojan-horse method has been proposed to extract S-matrix elements of a two-body reaction at astrophysical energies from a related reaction with three particles in the final state. This should be useful in cases where the direct measurement of the two-body reaction at the necessary low energies is experimentally difficult. The formalism of the Trojan-horse method for nuclear reactions is developed in detail from basic scattering theory including spin degrees of freedom of the nuclei and we specify the necessary approximations. The energy dependence of the three-body reaction is determined by characteristic functions that represent the theoretical ingredients for the method. In a plane-wave Born approximation of the T-matrix the differential cross section assumes a simple structure. Received August 31, 1999; revised June 14, 2000; accepted for publication June 30, 2000     

Three-body scattering in Poincaré-invariant quantum mechanics

The relativistic three-nucleon problem is formulated by constructing a dynamical unitary representation of the Poincaré group on the three-nucleon Hilbert space. Two-body interactions are included that preserve the Poincaré symmetry, lead to the same invariant two-body S-matrix as the corresponding non-relativistic problem, and result in a three-body S-matrix satisfying cluster properties. The resulting Faddeev equations are solved by direct integration, without partial waves for both elastic and breakup reactions at laboratory energies up to 2?GeV.     

The α-<Superscript>12</Superscript>C scattering studied via the Trojan-Horse method

The Trojan-horse method has been suggested as a means to study a two-body reaction at astrophysical energies via a three-body breakup reaction. In order to test this method the ⁶Li(¹²C,α¹²C)²H reaction was studied in a kinematically complete experiment at an incident energy of 18 MeV. Coincidence spectra show the presence of the quasi-free α-¹²C scattering process. The excitation function of the three-body reaction is calculated in the plane wave impulse approximation assuming quasi-free scattering and is compared with the experimental data. Also, the excitation function of the virtual α-¹²C elastic scattering is extracted from the three-body reaction cross section at low deuteron momenta and compared with the behaviour of the free scattering cross section. Received: 4 June 1999 / Revised version: 15 November 1999     

Topics in the S-matrix theory of massless particles

We discuss how massless particle reactions may be incorporated into standard S-matrix theory. The crucial element for doing so is a low-energy zero. Examples of reactions where such zeros occur are weak interaction processes involving neutrinos, chirally symmetric massless pion scattering, and two-photon exchange between neutral systems. These zeros make two-body unitarity a good approximation for sufficiently low energy despite the coalescence of multiparticle thresholds. Through two-body unitarity, these zeros produce lines of zeros in the absorptive parts and double spectral functions. These lines of zeros are the S-matrix analog of the requirement of an infrared finite field theory. Not only do they produce finite total cross sections at finite energies, but they also allow both upper and lower bounds to be derived for these cross sections at high energies. This upper bound is our main result. If a plausible smoothness assumption is made, we find σ_tot <s^? (where ? is arbitrarily small). In particular, the experimentally observed linear rise of the neutrino proton cross section cannot continue indefinitely.     

Bound states and scattering from bound states in the light-front field theory dynamics

Starting from the Weinberg rules we derive a covariant form of the relativistic Schrödinger equation and formulate the bound state problem in the light-front field theory dynamics. We present an explicit rule for embodying the two-body subsystem in the three-body space and demonstrate that the cluster decomposition property is explicitly preserved in the light front field theory dynamics. As an application of these results we write amplitudes forπd→nN ^*, πd→πpn, andπd→πd, in the impulse approximation, in terms of the internal bound state wave functions and two-body reducedt-matrix elements.     

On the variable-charge Coulomb-projected Born approximation

Total cross-sections for electron impact excitation of 1¹ S – 2³ S transition in helium have been calculated using variable-charge Coulomb-projected Born approximation and also using a distorted wave model in which the prior form of theT-matrix is used. The comparison of the two sets of results enables us to make certain observations about the suitability of the variable-charge Coulomb-projected Born approximation.     

Trajectory of neutron–neutron–C excited three-body state

The trajectory of the first excited Efimov state is investigated by using a renormalized zero-range three-body model for a system with two bound and one virtual two-body subsystems. The approach is applied to n–n–¹⁸C, where the n–n$n\text{–}n$ virtual energy and the three-body ground state are kept fixed. It is shown that such three-body excited state goes from a bound to a virtual state when the n–¹⁸C binding energy is increased. Results obtained for the n–¹⁹C elastic cross-section at low energies also show dominance of an S-matrix pole corresponding to a bound or virtual Efimov state. It is also presented a brief discussion of these findings in the context of ultracold atom physics with tunable scattering lengths.     

Solving Faddeev-Merkuriev equations within the J-matrix approach: Application to coulomb problems

A version of the J-matrix method for solving three-body differential Faddeev-Merkuriev equations is proposed. This version permits taking into account the full spectrum of a two-body Coulomb subsystem. Laguerre functions are used as a basis in expanding the total wave function of the problem being considered. In order to test the efficiency of the proposed method, the differential cross section for single ionization of a helium atom is calculated where the emerging He⁺ ion remains in an excited state. The result agrees satisfactorily with experimental data both in the shape of the respective curve and in magnitude.     

Origin of three-body resonances

We expose the relation between the properties of the three-body continuum states and their two-body subsystems. These properties refer to their bound and virtual states and resonances, all defined as poles of the S-matrix. For one infinitely heavy core and two non-interacting light particles, the complex energies of the three-body poles are the sum of the two two-body complex pole-energies. These generic relations are modified by center-of-mass effects which alone can produce a Borromean system. We show how the three-body states evolve in ⁶He, ⁶Li, and ⁶Be when the nucleon-nucleon interaction is continuously switched on. The schematic model is able to reproduce the main properties in their spectra. Realistic calculations for these nuclei are shown in detail for comparison. The implications of a core with non-zero spin are investigated and illustrated for ¹⁷Ne ( ¹⁵O + p + p). Dimensionless units allow predictions for systems of different scales.     

Time-dependent mean field S-matrix theory

By using the path integral approach to many-body systems, we formulate a time-dependent mean field S-matrix theory of nuclear reactions. Many-body channel eigenstates are constructed by using projection techniques. In this way the S-matrix between the channel eigenstates is expressed as a superposition of S-matrix elements between wave-packet-like states localized in space and time. A field operator representation of the interaction picture S-matrix is derived which enables one to apply the path integral approach. Applying the stationary phase approximation to the path integral representation of the interaction picture S-matrix between the localized states an asymptotically constant time-dependent mean field approximation to this S-matrix is obtained. Finally, the S-matrix between the projected channel eigenstates is obtained by evaluating the integral, arising from the projections, over the space-time positions of the localized states in the stationary phase approximation. The stationary phase conditions select those localized states from the projected channel states for which the mean field values of energy and momentum coincide with their corresponding channel eigenvalues.     

Three-Body Phase Shift in One-Dimensional 2 + 1 Scattering

For a model of three particles on a line, subject to attractive delta-function interactions, we consider the phase shift. We do this from the point of view of the calculation of the S-matrix in a hyperspherical adiabatic basis (an adiabatic S-matrix), and for energies ranging from the (negative) energy of the two-body bound state to a total energy of zero. We derive analytical expansions and present numerical work, for different approximations, and compare with the exact results that we obtain from the work of McGuire, whose model we have borrowed. We show that the simplest adiabatic approximation gives results that are qualitatively wrong, but that better approximations yield, for most of our range, excellent agreement with the exact result. Understanding the threshold behaviour, however, requires a zero-energy three-body bound state, or resonance, previously unsuspected for this model. The methods developed for the case of the simplest adiabatic approximation also yield threshold and low-energy results applicable to the two-body problem in two dimensions. Received December 23, 1996; revised May 13, 1997; accepted for publication June 19, 1997     

Scattering theory of three-body systems

The Faddeev amplitude is expressed in the N/D form in terms of the real reciprocal matrix K. The S-matrix is written in the unitary form (1 + iπK)S = 1 ?iπK. The Breit-Wigner formula for the three-body system including the break-up channel is derived. In the present method, the three-body problem is reduced to solve the eigenvalue problem for the real symmetric kernel.     

Total S-matrix and adiabatic amplitudes for the three-body problem

The three-body quantum scattering problem reduced by the expansion of the wavefunction over the specially constructed basis to a two-body problem is considered. The asymptotics of this basis, as well as the solutions of the effective two-body equations are derived. A total S-matrix for 2 (2, 3) processes is expressed in terms of adiabatic amplitudes and vice versa.     

Decoupling potentials for the three-body final state Schrödinger equation of knockout reactions

In the conventional distorted wave impulse approximation (DWIA) approach the three-body final state of a knockout reaction is decoupled by assuming a plane wave form for the coupling term. The influence of this decoupling approximation on the analyses of cluster knockout reactions has been investigated for a test case where the exact solution is obtainable. A proper treatment of the coupling term causes large oscillations in the effective distorting optical potentials for the decoupled Schrödinger equation. These decoupling potentials depend strongly not only on the partial wave angular momentum,l but also on their azimuthal projection,m.     

The two-body photodisintegration of the 3He nucleus

The two-body photodisintegration of ³He is calculated using ³He and proton-deuteron wave functions obtained by assuming a separable interaction for the two-nucleon t-matrix. We show that the isotropic component of the cross section is unlikely to yield useful information on the D-state probability densities of the deuteron and ³He. A detailed comparison is made with the data on the cross section at 90°. The separable approximation can account for some of the experimental results, but other experiments suggest that a more sophisticated treatment of the nuclear interactions and wave functions is necessary.     

The Gell-Mann-Goldberger formula for long-range potential scattering

A derivation of the Gell-Mann-Goldberger (GG) formula and cut-off versions of this formula for the T-matrix involving long-range potentials is given. The derivation is based on the time-dependent and recently developed stationary formalisms for scattering via long-range potentials. A stationary S-operator expression for two-body Coulomb-like scattering is derived. Using the well-known expression for the off-energy-shell “T-matrix” for a pure Coulomb potential the energy-shell limit of this stationary expression is shown to yield the pure Coulomb scattering amplitude. A proof of the convergence of the perturbation series corresponding to the Gell-Mann-Goldberger formula for the two-body Coulomb-like T-matrix is given.     

Tests of the discretized-continuum method in three-body dipole strengths

We investigate the ⁶He dipole distribution in a three-body α+n+n model. Two approaches are used to describe the three-body ¹⁻ continuum: the discretized-continuum method, where the scattering wave functions are approximated by square-integrable functions, and the R-matrix formalism, where their asymptotic behaviour is taken into account. We show that some ambiguity exists in the pseudostate method, owing to the smoothing technique, necessary to derive continuous distributions. We show evidence for the important role of the halo structure in the E1 dipole strength. We also address the treatment of Pauli forbidden states in the three-body wave functions.     

Model three-body problem in the molecular mass limit

The bound states of a three-body molecule composed of two identical heavy nuclei and a light “electron” interacting through short-range s-wave potentials are studied. The spectrum of three-body bound states grows as the mass ratio m between the heavy and light particles increases, and presents a remarkable vibration rotation structure that can be fitted with the usual empirical energy formulas of molecular spectroscopy. The results of the exact three-body calculation for the binding energy and bound-state wavefunction are compared with the predictions of the Born-Oppenheimer method for the same system. We find that for m > 30, the Born-Oppenheimer approximation yields very good results for both the binding energies and wavefunctions. For smaller m (1 <m < 30) the Born-Oppenheimer results are still surprisingly good and this is shown to be related to the range of the two-body interactions.