Formation of covalent nuclear molecules in the 13C + 12C system

Angular distribution's of the elastic scattering of ¹³C on ¹²C and the inelastic scattering leading to the lowest-lying $\text{1}\text{2}{}^{\mathrm{+}}$ and $\text{5}\text{2}{}^{\mathrm{+}}$ states in ¹³C have been measured at energies close to the Coulomb barrier. Analyses carried out in the framework of a complete coupled-reaction-channel theory show that extremely polarized single-particle molecular orbits (hybridization) are formed during the scattering process which give rise to a multiple-step interaction of the valence nucleon, i.e. the formation of a covalent nuclear molecule.