The12C+12C reaction at subcoulomb energies (I)

The reaction¹²C+¹²C has been studied in the energy rangeE _cm=2.45–6.15 MeV byγ-ray spectroscopy. Gamma-ray transitions from a large number of excited states in²⁰Ne,²³Na and²³Mg were observed, which show strong and rapid yield variations. When the influence of the Coulomb barrier is removed, these structures appear superimposed on a flat reaction yield, which does not show a strong increase at low energies, in contrast to previous work. These results obviate the need for the hypothesis of absorption under the barrier at least down toE _cm=2.45 MeV. The nuclear and astrophysical aspects of the data are discussed.     

The15N(p,α 0)12C reaction at stellar energies

The¹⁵N(ρ, α₀)¹²C reaction has been investigated in the energy range ofE _p (lab)=78-810keV. The measurement of the excitation functions and α-particle angular distributions involved solid targets as well as a quasi-point supersonic jet gas target. The determination of absolute cross sections has been carried out with the gas target. The observed energy dependence of the total cross sections can be described in terms of two-level Breit-Wigner shapes including the resonances atE _p (J ^π)=335(1^?) and 1,028(1^?)keV. The data lead to a zero-energy intercept of the astrophysicalS(E) factor ofS(0)= 65±4MeV-b. The angular distributions are asymmetric around 90° and require an additional amplitude in the reaction mechanism, which interferes predominantly with the 335 keV resonance. The origin of this background amplitude is discussed.     

The4He(12C, γ)16O reaction at stellar energies

The capture reaction⁴He(¹²C, γ)¹⁶O (E _c.m.= 1.34–3.38 MeV) as well as the elastic scattering process⁴He(¹²C,¹²C)⁴He (E _c.m.=1.44–3.38 MeV) have been investigated with the use of an intense¹²C beam and a windowless and⁴He recirculating gas target system. The measurements involved two large NaI(T1) crystals in close geometry to an extended gas target, whereby angle-integrated γ-ray yields were obtained. A large area plastic detector was used for the suppression of time-independent background. A search for cascade γ-ray transitions was carried out by coincidence techniques. The measurement of absolute cross sections is also reported. Theoretical fits of the excitation function for the groundstate γ-ray transition requireE1 as well asE2 capture amplitudes, which are of equal importance at stellar energies. This result increases significantly the stellar burning rate of⁴He(¹²C, γ)¹⁶O and leads to¹⁶O as the dominant product at the end of helium burning in massive stars. The observed capture yield to the 6.92 MeV state is dominated by the direct capture mechanism and plays a small role at stellar energies.     

Dynamic polarization potential of 12C+12C system at molecular-resonance energies

The nuclear reaction dynamics leading to the formation of recently discovered resonance in the mutual-0₂ ⁺ channel of the ¹²C+¹²C inelastic scattering around E _c.m.≃ 32 MeV is studied in terms of the dynamic polarization potential (DPP) induced by the channel coupling among various excited states in ¹²C. The microscopic 3α cluster-model wave functions are used to generate the ¹²C−¹²C diagonal and coupling potentials in the double-folding model. It is found that DPP for the 0₂ ⁺+ 0₂ ⁺ channel is an unusually strong attractive potential which even exceeds the zeroth-order folding-model potential of this channel around the nuclear surface region and that the strong coupling between the 0₂ ⁺ and 2₂ ⁺ states is predominantly responsible for the unusual DPP in this channel. The effective potential, the sum of the original folding-model potential and the attractive DPP, is found to generates resonance states in the same energy region as that of the resonance states generated by the original folding-model potential but the former states are found to be higher-nodal states having four additional radial nodes. Similar but more moderate property of DPP is also found in the entrance (elastic) channel. These results suggest that the reaction dynamics of generating the resonance in the ¹²C(0₂ ⁺) +¹²C(0₂ ⁺) channel may rather differ from that of the simple crossing of the zeroth-order molecular band generated by the potentials in the entrance and exit channels suggested by the standard band-crossing model. Received: 17 December 1998 / Revised version: 1 March 1999     

Screening effects on ~(12)C+~(12)C fusion reaction

One of the important reactions for nucleosynthesis in the carbon burning phase in high-mass stars is the ~(12)C+~(12)C fusion reaction. In this study, we investigate the influences of the nuclear potentials and screening effect on astrophysically interesting ~(12)C+~(12)C fusion reaction observables at sub-barrier energies by using the microscopic α-αdouble folding cluster(DFC) potential and the proximity potential. In order to model the screening effects on the experimental data, a more general exponential cosine screened Coulomb(MGECSC) potential including Debye and quantum plasma cases has been considered in the calculations for the ~(12)C+~(12)C fusion reaction. In the calculations of the reaction observables, the semi-classical Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin(WKB) approach and coupled channel(CC)formalism have been used. Moreover, in order to investigate how the potentials between ~(12)C nuclei produce molecular cluster states of ~(24)Mg, the normalized resonant energy states of ~(24)Mg cluster bands have been calculated for the DFC potential. By analyzing the results produced from the fusion of ~(12)C+~(12)C, it is found that taking into account the screening effects in terms of MGECSC is important for explaining the ~(12)C+~(12)C fusion data, and the microscopic DFC potential is better than the proximity potential in explaining the experimental data, also considering that clustering is dominant for the structure of the ~(24)Mg nucleus.     

Fusion cross sections for 10,11B+12C at sub-Coulomb energies

Total fusion cross sections for the ¹⁰B + ¹²C and ¹¹B + ¹²C reactions have been determined over a 5 MeV (c.m.) energy range extending to ≈ 3 MeV below the Coulomb barrier. Absolute γ-ray yields for specific transitions in the de-excitation of the heavy products following compound nucleus decay were measured using a Ge(Li) detector. Statistical model calculations of the decay modes of the compound nucleus have been used to deduce, from the γ-ray data, cross sections for single proton, neutron and α-particle emission, and to determine total cross sections for compound nucleus formation. No evidence has been found for sub-Coulomb resonances in either reaction. The total reaction cross sections are compared with optical model calculations using different parameter sets and the observed trend in the very low energy cross sections is discussed relative to other reactions in the same mass region.     

Measurement of the 11B(11B, 10Be)12C proton transfer reaction at low energies

Differential cross sections for the ¹¹B(¹¹B,¹⁰Be)¹²C proton transfer reaction leading to the ¹⁰Be(g.sO+¹²C(4.43 MeV) $\text{(Q = 0.289}\text{MeV}\text{)}\text{and}{}^{10}\text{(3.37}\text{MeV}\text{) +}{}^{12}\text{C}\text{(g.s.) (Q = 1.36}\text{Me V}\text{)}$ final channels have been measured at E_c.m. = 5.5 MeV by coincident detection of the ¹⁰Be and ¹²C nuclei. The integrated cross sections for the ¹⁰Be + ¹²C(4.43 MeV) channel have been obtained for incident energies between E_c.m. = 2.66 and 3.64 MeV from the yields of the 4.43 MeV γ-ray emitted in the ¹²C 4.43 MeV → g.s. transition. The cross-section magnitudes compare well with the DWBA calculations. The sub-barrier transfer cross sections exhibit an unusual energy dependence: their ratio to the total reaction cross section is decreasing with decreasing incident energy.     

Alpha particles from the reaction12C +12C at 28.7 MeV/nucleon

A classical dynamical alpha-cluster model has been developed and applied in order to get inclusive energy spectra of alpha particles produced in the collision of¹²C +¹²C at the beam energy 28.7 MeV/A. Results of the calculations are compared with experimental data. The shapes of the experimental energy spectra and the absolute normalization at forward angles are approximately described without any free parameters. The model makes it possible to distinguish alpha particles originating from the compound system and from direct processes. The spectra at forward angles are dominated by projectile fragmentation processes. The cross section at larger angles is overestimated, which is partially due to emission of particles other than alpha particles in central collisions. The evaporation Hauser-Feshbach model predicts that alpha particles emitted from the compound nucleus constitute less than 26% of all emitted particles.     

Neutron branching in the reaction 12C + 12C

The cross section for the reaction ¹²C(¹²C, n)²³Mg has been measured in the energy range E_c.m. = 3.54?4.94 MeV by counting the delayed γ-rays from ²³Mg decays (half-life = 11.57 sec), and a theoretical model has been employed to extrapolate the results to threshold (E_c.m = 2.60 MeV). By combining these results with previous measurements of the reactions ¹²C(¹²C, p)²³Na and ¹²C(¹²C, α)²⁰Ne, the neutron branching ratio in the energy interval from threshold to 8 MeV is deduced, and a thermal average is computed that should be valid for use in astrophysical environments characterized by temperatures in the range (0.5–5) × 10⁹ °K. The neutron branching at temperatures appropriate to hydrostatic carbon burning in stars (T ≈ 109 °K) is found to be much smaller than previously estimated.     

Global examination of the 12C + 12C reaction data at low and intermediate energies

We examine the ¹²C + ¹²C elastic scattering over a wide energy range from 32.0 to 70.7 MeV in the laboratory system within the framework of the optical model and the coupled-channels formalism. The ¹²C + ¹²C system has been extensively studied within and over this energy range in the past. These efforts have been futile in determining the shape of the nuclear potential in the low energy region and in describing the individual angular distributions, single-angle 50° to 90° excitation functions and reaction cross-section data simultaneously. In order to address these problems systematically, we propose a potential that belongs to a family other than the one used to describe higher energy experimental data and show that it is possible to use it over this wide energy range. This potential also predicts the resonances at correct energies with reasonable widths.     

Angular distribution measurement for ~(12)C fragmentation via ~(12)C + ~(12)C scattering at 100 MeV/u

The angular distributions and energy spectra of~(11)B,~(10)B,and~9Be fragments of~(12)C in the angular range from 1.0°~to 7.5°~at 100 Me V/u were obtained via~(12)C+~(12)C scattering.Detailed comparisons are presented between the experimental data and the modified antisymmetrized molecular dynamics(AMD-FM),binary intranuclear cascade model(BIC)and Liege intranuclear cascade model(INCL++).The experimental angular distributions and energy spectra are well reproduced by the AMD-FM calculations but fail to be reproduced by the physical models installed in the Geant4 program,including the BIC and INCL++models.     

Production of neutral mesons in the reaction12C+12C at 2 GeV/u

A systematic study of neutral meson production in heavy-ion reactions at 2 GeV/u was started with a¹²C+¹²C experiment using the photon spectrometer TAPS. Special emphasis is put on the possible observation of the-meson in a heavy-ion reaction exploiting the decay channel ⁰.Presented at the International School-Workshop Relativistic Heavy-Ion Physics, Prague (Czech Republic), 19–23 September 1994.     

Tensor polarization of 12C[2+ 1] in the 16O(13C,12C)17O reaction at 50 MeV

The ¹⁶O(¹³C,¹²C)¹⁷O reaction at 50 MeV has been investigated using the kinematical coincidence method. Polarization tensors t ₂₀ and t ₄₀ of ¹²C[2⁺ ₁] for the quantization axis taken along the direction of propagation have been measured by analyzing the energy spectrum of ¹²C[2⁺ ₁], modulated by the effect of γ ray emission. The deduced t ₄₀ values significantly deviate from zero, contrary to the prediction of the distorted-wave Born approximation theory based on one-step p shell neutron stripping without spin-dependent interactions. The phenomenological spin–orbit interaction necessary to reproduce the magnitude of measured t ₄₀ is found to be much larger than the folding model prediction. It is shown that the experimental polarization tensors as well as the cross sections can be reproduced by introducing multi-step processes involving excitations in ¹²C and ¹³C without introducing spin-dependent interactions. Received: 2 August 1999 / Revised version: 3 February 2000