A complete picture of the breakup in 6,7Li-induced reactions

Abstract

Experiments with weakly-bound nuclei have demonstrated that breakup significantly affects the reaction outcomes. Coincidence measurements of breakup fragments at sub-barrier energies, using a position sensitive back-angle detector array covering 117° to 167° , have enabled the complete characterisation of the breakup processes in the reactions of the weakly-bound 6,7Li with 208Pb. The timescales of different breakup processes were also extracted from the fragments kinematics, enabling a clear characterization of prompt and delayed breakup. The majority of these prompt breakup events are triggered by n-stripping for 6Li, and p-pickup for 7Li. The demonstration that the reaction dynamics and outcomes can be significantly determined not only by the properties of the two colliding nuclei, but by the ground-state and excited state properties of their neighbours, is a key insight for understanding and predicting reactions of weakly-bound nuclei near the limits of nuclear existence.