The break-up of the deuteron and stripping to unbound states

We treat the break-up of the deuteron in the field of a heavy nucleaus. Our theory is based on the post formalism of the DWBA, which is discussed in detail. In particular we consider the case where the energy of the incoming deuteron is below the Coulomb barrier. This sub-Coulomb break-up permits a test of the DWBA by comparing experimental data with the theory. Small effects are investigated in this context, and other treatments of this process are reviewed critically. To give an intuitive picture of the break-up process we introduce a semiclassical model.In the second part the theory is extended to stripping reactions to unbound (resonant) states. We show that this reaction which interferes with the direct break-up process, can again be well described in the post-form of the DWBA. Using simple models we discuss the most important features of such reactions. Particular attention is paid to the “l-enhancement”, “parallelism” and the influence of the specific wave functions on resonance line shapes. A survey and comparison of various theories of stripping reactions to unbound states is given and finally we discuss possible future developments.