Electromagnetic dissociation of relativistic 8B nuclei in nuclear track emulsion

Experimental data on fragmentation channels in peripheral interactions of ⁸B nuclei in nuclear track emulsions are presented. A detailed analysis made it possible to justify selections of events of the electromagnetic-dissociation process ⁸B → ⁷Be + p and to estimate its cross section. Events of ¹⁰C peripheral dissociation that were observed in the same exposure are described.     

Fragmentation channels of relativistic 7Be nuclei in peripheral interactions

At the JINR Nuclotron, ⁷Li nuclei are accelerated. The charge-exchange reaction involving these nuclei at an external target provides a secondary 1.23-A-GeV ⁷Be beam. This beam is used to irradiate emulsion chambers. The mean free path λ_inel(⁷Be) = 14.0 ± 0.8 cm for inelastic ⁷Be interactions in an emulsion coincides within the errors with those for ⁶Li and ⁷Li nuclei. More than 10% of the ⁷Be events are associated with the peripheral interactions in which the total charge of the relativistic fragments is equal to the charge of the ⁷Be nucleus and in which charged mesons are not produced. An unusual ratio of the helium isotopes is revealed in the composition of the doubly charged fragments of the ⁷Be nuclei: the number of the ³He fragments is twice as large as that of the ⁴He fragments. Each of 50% of peripheral interaction events includes two doubly charged fragments. The channels of the ⁷Be fragmentation into charged fragments are presented. In 50% of events, the ⁷Be fragmentation occurs only into charged fragments without the emission of neutrons. The ⁴He + ³He channel dominates, whereas each of the ⁴He + d + p and ⁶Li + p channels constitutes 10%. Two events without neutron emission are observed in the ³He + t + p and ³He + d + d three-body channels. The mean free path for the coherent dissociation of relativistic ⁷Be nuclei into ⁴He + ³He is equal to 7 ± 1 m. The main features of the fragmentation of relativistic ⁷Be nuclei in such peripheral interactions are explained by the ³He + ⁴He two-cluster structure of the ⁷Be nucleus.     

Study of the Involvement of <Superscript>8</Superscript>Be and <Superscript>9</Superscript>B Nuclei in the Dissociation of Relativistic <Superscript>10</Superscript>C, <Superscript>10</Superscript>B,and <Superscript>12</Superscript>C Nuclei

The results obtained by estimating the contribution of 8Be and 9B nuclei to the coherent dissociation of ¹⁰C, ¹⁰B, and ¹²C relativistic nuclei in nuclear track emulsions (“white” stars) are presented. The selection of white stars accompanied by 9B leads to a distinct peak appearing in the distribution of the excitation energy of 2α2p ensembles and having a maximum at 4.1 ± 0.3 MeV. A 8Be nucleus manifests itself in the coherent-dissociation reaction ¹⁰B → ²He + H with a probability of (25 ± 5)%, (14 ± 3)% of it being due to 9B decays. The ratio of the branching fractions of the ⁹B + n and ⁹Be + p mirror channels is estimated at 6 ± 1. An analysis of the relativistic dissociation of ¹²C nuclei in a nuclear track emulsion revealed nine 3α events corresponding to the Hoyle state.     

Fragmentation of12C nuclei in emulsion at 50 GeV/c

A total of 852¹²C-emulsion nucleus interactions at 4.2 GeV/c per incident nucleon was investigated. At least one charged projectile fragment was observed in 733 events, in which the multiplicity and angular distributions ofZ=1,2, and ≧3 projectile fragments were studied. Five events were observed in which¹²C projectile nuclei were fragmented into twoZ=3 fragments. Thus the cross section of this process is about 6×10^?3 of the inelastic cross section. The angular distribution of projectile fragments becomes narrower as the fragment charge increases. At all values of fragment charges, a pronounced peak in the angular distribution can be observed at zero emission angle. In this paper, only the projectile-fragmentation events possessing no heavily ionizing particle (n _h =0 events) have been investigated. Our sample contains 84 of these events, i.e., about 10% of the total inelastic events. The number of events withZ _max, the charge of the emitted principal fragment, equal to 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are 11, 52, 13, 4, and 4, respectively. Of these 84 events, 36 interactions have a total charge of emitted projectile fragmentsZ ^* equal to 6, i.e., as much as the beam chargeZ _p . Of the 36 events, 17 produce no charged pions and of the 17 events, 10 only represent the dissociation of¹²C→3α, i.e., 1.2% of the total inelastic interactions. The number of events withZ ^*=5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 are 27, 14, 4, 2, and 1, respectively. The average number of produced charged pions per one interacting projectile nucleon was estimated to be 1.2±0.1. This value agrees with the corresponding one in elementary interaction at the same energy per nucleon, a result pertaining to the incoherent production model in collision of two nuclei. In this class of events,n _h =0, the number of stars in which H, He, Li, Be, and B isotopes were detected are 59, 58, 13, 4, and 4, respectively. The projected angular distributions ofZ=1 and 2 projectile fragments are Gaussian shaped, narrow, consistent with isotropy, and depend on the fragment. These distributions are consistent with quantum mechanical calculations using the sudden approximation and shell-model functions. From the angular measurements ofα-particle tracks in the dissociation¹²C→3α events, the distribution ofα-particle transverse momentum inside the carbon projectile nucleus was deduced. It seems that the dissociation of¹²C→3α happens via an intermediate⁸Be state.     

Multiparticle production of doubly charged fragments in the fragmentation of relativistic nuclei

Features of angular distributions of events involving two or more doubly charged fragments of relativistic nuclei ²²Ne, ²⁴Mg, ¹⁴N, ¹¹B, and ¹⁰B in photoemulsions are studied. It is found that, in all cases, with the exception of the case of the intermediate-state decay ⁸Be → 2α, the fragments in these events are independent of one another. The inclusive angular distributions of fragments of relativistic nuclei ²²Ne for events in which the number of particles ranges between one and five are identical. Thus, the emission angle of each fragment of a relativistic nucleus does not depend either on other fragments or on the presence or absence of product particles and target-nucleus fragments in an event.     

Dissociation of 10C nuclei in a track nuclear emulsion at an energy of 1.2 GeV per nucleon

The charge topology in the fragmentation of ¹⁰C nuclei in a track nuclear emulsion at an energy of 1.2 GeV per nucleon is studied. In the coherent dissociation of ¹⁰C nuclei, about 82% of events are associated with the channel ¹⁰C → 2α+ 2p. The angular distributions and correlations of product fragments are presented for this channel. It is found that among ¹⁰C → 2α+ 2p events, about 30% are associated with the process in which dissociation through the ground state of the unstable ⁹Be_g.s. nucleus is followed by ⁸Be_g.s. + p decays.     

Possible mechanisms of fragmentation of 16O nuclei with a momentum of 4.5 GeV/c per nucleon in track emulsions

The angular distributions of doubly charged fragments of ¹⁶O nuclei having a momentum of 4.5 GeV/c per nucleon and interacting with track-emulsion nuclei were studied. The experimental angular distributions of doubly charged fragments of a ¹⁶O nucleus are not described by the statistical model of the fragmentation of nuclei. The possible channels of fragmentation of ¹⁶O nuclei may include ¹⁶O → 2⁸Be → 4α, ¹⁶O → ⁸Be +⁸ Be* → 4α, ¹⁶O → 2⁸Be* → 4α, ¹⁶O → α+¹²C, ¹⁶O → α +¹²C* → α + 3α, ¹⁶O → α +¹²C* → α + pα ⁷Li, ¹⁶O → α +¹²C* → α + 2⁶Li, ¹⁶O → α +¹²C* → α + pt2α, ¹⁶O → Li + B, and ¹⁶O → Li* + B*.     

Some special features of the fragmentation of a relativistic nucleus 11B in photoemulsion

Events where two doubly charged fragments are directly formed from a fragmenting nucleus ¹¹B of momentum 2.75 GeV/c per nucleon are separated, the cascade production of such fragments via the fragmentation channel ⁸Be → 2α being avoided. Where possible, the mass numbers of these doubly charged fragments are determined by using a signal from Coulomb scattering in photoemulsion. It is found that the measured fraction of the isotope ⁶He is (9.6 ± 1.5)%, while its calculated probability is about 12%. The transverse-momentum distributions obtained experimentally for the isotopes ³He and ⁴He are compatible with a Rayleigh distribution characterized by constant values of 110.4 ± 6.0 and 127.5 ± 6.0 MeV/c, respectively. These features of the distributions agree with a purely statistical mechanism of the fragmentation of ¹¹B nuclei.     

Study of the <Superscript>12</Superscript>C (<Superscript>8</Superscript>B, <Superscript>7</Superscript>Be)<Emphasis Type="Italic">X</Emphasis> knockout reaction at intermediate energies

The breakup reactions of ⁸B on a ¹²C target at 142, 285, 790, and 936MeV/nucleon have been studied. One-proton-removal cross sections, leading to the production of ⁷Be fragments in the ground and first excited states (at 0.429MeV), and the longitudinal momentum distributions of the ⁷Be fragments are obtained in the Eikonal approximation of the Glauber Model. The results of the calculations including the contribution of the ⁷Be to the ground and first excited states of ⁸B are compared with the available experimental data. One-proton-removal cross section for the ¹²C(⁸B, ⁷Be)X knockout reaction at 142, 285, 790, and 936 MeV/nucleon energy has been calculated. ⁸B and ⁷Be cross sections and momentum distribution are in a good agreement with available data.     

Role of 8Be → 2 α intermediate nuclei in the fragmentation of 16O relativistic nuclei in nuclear track emulsions

In searches along a track in the chamber irradiated at the Laboratory of High Energies at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR, Dubna) with oxygen ions accelerated to a momentum of 4.5 GeV/c per nucleon, 215 events containing two or more doubly charged fragments of the primary nucleus were found. Emission angles in the track-emulsion plane were measured in these events. Their distribution is consistent with that which alpha particles are expected to have in an oxygen nucleus prior to its interaction with a track-emulsion nucleus. Events of the ¹⁶O ?? 2⁸Be ?? 4?? type were discovered for the first time. They are treated as events of the coherent electromagnetic dissociation of an oxygen nucleus. Among all events, about 14% of the ⁸Be ?? 2?? decays proceed through the ground state of spin-parity 0⁺; an approximately the same fraction of such decays proceed through the first excited state of spin-parity 2⁺.     

Features of the 9Be → 2He fragmentation in an emulsion for an energy of 1.2 GeV per nucleon

The results of investigation of the fragmentation of relativistic nuclei ⁹Be in an emulsion, which is accompanied by the formation of two 1.2-A-GeV He fragments, are presented. The angular measurements of the ⁹Be → 2He events are analyzed. The ⁹Be → ⁸Be + n fragmentation channel with the decay of ⁸Be from the ground (0⁺) and first excited (2⁺) states into a pair of α particles appears to be dominant.     

Investigation of the reaction mechanism for the four-particle photodisintegration of a carbon nucleus

The four-particle photodisintegration of a carbon nucleus in the reactions ¹²C(γ, p)³H2α and ¹²C(γ, n)³H2α is investigated by a method that employs a diffusion chamber in a magnetic field. It is shown that these reactions proceed according a sequential-type scheme: excited states of ¹¹B and ¹¹C nuclei decay to weakly excited states of ⁸Be, ⁷Li, and ⁷Be nuclei. It is concluded that nucleons are knocked out from the s shell. In the excitation curve for the 2α system in the reaction ¹²C(γ, p)³H2α, a resonance is found between the maxima corresponding to the ground and the first excited state of the ⁸Be nucleus, and this resonance is identified as a ghost anomaly. The branching fractions of the decay modes are determined. The angular distributions of nucleons in the reaction c.m. frame are measured. The energy dependence of the asymmetry coefficient for the angular distributions is obtained. A fast increase in this coefficient is observed in the energy range 38–40 MeV. It is concluded that the asymmetry coefficient depends on the excitation energy of the final nucleus in the region of intermediate photon energies.     

7Be(p, γ)8B and the high-energy solar neutrino flux

The importance of the⁷Be(p, γ)⁸B reaction in predicting the high-energy solar neutrino flux is discussed. I present a microscopic eight-body model and a potential model for the calculation of the⁷Be(p, γ)⁸B cross section.     

The cross section of the7Be(n,p)7Li reaction at 24.5 keV neutron energy

The 24.5 keV neutrons induced reaction with the⁷Be radioactive nucleus was studied. The value of σ_np=(18±4)b was obtained for the⁷Be(n, p)⁷Li reaction cross section.     

Coulomb dissociation of 8B and solar neutrino problem

We measured the cross section for Coulomb dissociation of ⁸B using a radioactive ⁸B beam of 46.5 MeV/u energy with a ²⁰⁸Pb target. The corss section for the ⁷Be(p,γ)⁸B capture reaction was deduced at E_cm = 0.6 – 1.7 MeV. The extracted astrophysical S₁₇ factors were consistent with the values measured by Vaughn et al. and Filippone et al. Possible corrections due to ⁷Be excited state population, E1 and M2 contribution, nuclear contribution and post acceleration effects are considered.     

The three-component dual deck model,factorization and double diffractive dissociation

We propose the generalization to double diffractive dissociation (DDD) of the three-component dual Deck model which was designed to describe single diffractive dissociation and successfully applied to N → Nπ dissociation. With no free parameter we get a very satisfactory agreement with the existing data in nn → (pπ^?)(pπ^?) including the observed pronounced structure in the momentum transfer distributions. We also predict unexpected correlations between the cos θ_J of the two decays, which, through factorization are typical of our three-component dual Deck model. A general discussion of factorization properties is given.     

Fragmentation of relativistic nuclei in peripheral interactions in nuclear track emulsion

The technique of nuclear track emulsions is used to explore the fragmentation of light relativistic nuclei down to the most peripheral interactions: nuclear “white” stars. A complete pattern of the relativistic dissociation of a 8B nucleus with target fragment accompaniment is presented. Relativistic dissociation ⁹Be → 2α is explored using significant statistics, and a relative contribution of ⁸Be decays from 0+ and 2+ states is established. Target fragment accompaniments are shown for relativistic fragmentation ¹⁴N → 3He +H and ²²Ne → 5He. The leading role of the electromagnetic dissociation on heavy nuclei with respect to breakups on target protons is demonstrated in all these cases. It is possible to conclude that the peripheral dissociation of relativistic nuclei in nuclear track emulsion is a unique tool to study many-body systems composed of the lightest nuclei and nucleons in the energy scale relevant for nuclear astrophysics. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Die Breite des 4+(11,4 MeV)-Zustandes von8Be aus7Li(d,n) 2α

With the reaction⁷Li+“d→n+⁸Be→n+2α the location and width of the⁸Be(4,+) level is redetermined. While the location at 11.4±0.05 MeV is found in agreement with known values, the width is found to be onlyΓ=2.8±0.2 MeV thereby disagreeing with data fromα-α-scattering but being close to a recent determination from the reaction¹⁰B(d,α)⁸Be (Γ=2.6 MeV). — No indication for participation of an excited state of⁵He in the simultaneously possible reaction via⁵He is found.     

E2 component in subcoulomb breakup of 8B

We calculate the angular distribution and total cross section of the ⁷Be fragment emitted in the break up reaction of ⁸B on ⁵⁸Ni and ²⁰⁸Pb targets at the subcoulomb beam energy of 25.8 MeV, within the non-relativistic theory of Coulomb excitation with proper three-body kinematics. The relative contributions of the E1, E2 and M1 multipolarities to the cross sections are determined. The E2 component makes up about 65% and 40% of the ⁷Be total cross section for the ⁵⁸Ni and ²⁰⁸Pb targets respectively. We find that the extraction of the astrophysical S-factor, S₁₇(0), for the ⁷Be(p,γ)⁸B reaction at solar energies from the measurements of the cross sections of the ⁷Be fragment in the Coulomb dissociation of ⁸B at sub-Coulomb energies is still not free from the uncertainties of the E2 component.     

The effects of electron screening and resonances in (p, α) reactions on10B and11B at thermal energies

The fusion reactions¹⁰B(p, α)⁷Be and¹¹B(p, α)⁸Be have been studied over the c.m. energy range E=17 to 134 keV using intense proton beams and thick solid targets. In the case of¹¹B(p, α)⁸Be the low-energy data in terms of the astrophysical S(E) factor show an exponential enhancement (up to a factor of 1.9) due to the effects of electron screening, where the deduced screening potential is larger than expected. In the case of¹⁰B(p, α)⁷Be the low-energy data exhibit an enhancement by more than a factor of 200, which cannot be explained by the effects of electron screening. The enhancement arises here from the high-energy tail of an expecteds-wave resonance at E_R=10 keV. The results offer an improved prospect for this reaction as advanced fuel in future fusion reactors than previously envisioned.