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F. M. Nunes

Publications and source records attributed to F. M. Nunes.

104 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Sensitivity of 8B breakup cross section to projectile structure in CDCC calculations

Given the Astrophysical interest of $^7$Be$(p,γ)^8$B, there have been several experiments applying the Coulomb dissociation method for extracting the capture rate. Measurements at Michigan State are dominated by $E1$ contributions but have a small $E2$ component. On the other hand, a lower energy measurement at Notre Dame has a much stronger $E2$ contribution. The expectation was that the two measurements would tie down the $E2$ and thus allow for an accurate extraction of the $E1$ relevant for the capture process. The aim of this brief report is to show that the $E2$ factor in breakup reactions does not translate into a scaling of the $E2$ contribution in the corresponding capture reaction. We show that changes to the $^8$B single particle parameters, which are directly related to the $E2$ component in the capture reaction, do not effect the corresponding breakup reactions, using the present reaction theory.

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7Be breakup on heavy and light targets

In this paper we present all-order quantum mechanical calculations of 7Be breakup on heavy (208Pb) and light (12C) targets. We examine the issues concerning the extraction of the astrophysical S-factor from the breakup data. We discuss the interplay between Coulomb and nuclear breakup, and the importance of higher-order couplings on the cross section. We show that nuclear and Coulomb contributions are not separable using the standard angular selection criterion as nuclear breakup remains large for small scattering angles, even for the heavy target. However, by selecting an upper limit on the relative energy between the final fragments, the contribution from the nuclear breakup can be significantly reduced such that Coulomb breakup is the main reaction mechanism. We show that the extraction of the asymptotic normalization coefficient may require more careful consideration of the nuclear interior than previously used.

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FaCE: a tool for Three Body Faddeev calculations with core excitation

FaCE is a self contained programme, with namelist input, that solves the three body Faddeev equations. It enables the inclusion of excitation of one of the three bodies, whilst the other two remain inert. It is particularly useful for obtaining the binding energies and bound state structure compositions of light exotic nuclei treated as three-body systems, given the three effective two body interactions. A large variety of forms for these interactions may be defined, and supersymmetric transformations of these potentials may be calculated whenever two body states need to be removed due to Pauli blocking.

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Ultracold neutrons, quantum effects of gravity and the Weak Equivalence Principle

We consider an extension of the recent experiment with ultracold neutrons and the quantization of its vertical motion in order to test the Weak Equivalence Principle. We show that an improvement on the energy resolution of the experiment may allow to establish a modest limit to the Weak Equivalence Principle and on the gravitational screening constant. We also discuss the influence of a possible new interaction of Nature.

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Low energy behavior of astrophysical S factor in radiative captures to loosely bound final states

The low-energy behavior of the astrophysical S-factor for E1 direct radiative captures a(p,gamma)b leading to loosely bound final states (b=a+p) is investigated. We derive a first-order integral representation for S(E) and focus on the properties around zero energy. We show that it is the competition between various effects, namely the remnant Coulomb barrier, the initial and final centrifugal barriers and the binding energy, that defines the behavior of the S(E->0). Contrary to previous findings, we prove that S(E->0) is not determined by the pole corresponding to the bound state. The derivative S'(0) increases with the increase of the centrifugal barrier, while it decreases with the charge of the target. For l_i=l_f+1 the increase of the binding energy of the final nucleus increases the derivative S'(0) while for l_i=l_f-1 the opposite effect is found. We make use of our findings to explain the low energy behavior of the S-factors related to some notorious capture reactions: 7Be(p, gamma)8B, 14N(p,gamma)15O, 16O}(p,gamma)17F, 20Ne(p, gamma)21Na and 22Mg(p, gamma)23Al.

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Calculations of three-body observables in ^8B breakup

We discuss calculations of three-body observables for the breakup of ^8B on a ^{58}Ni target at low energy using the coupled discretised continuum channels approach. Calculations of both the angular distribution of the ^7Be fragments and their energy distributions are compared with those measured at several laboratory angles. In these observables there is interference between the breakup amplitudes from different spin-parity excitations of the projectile. The resulting angle and the energy distributions reveal the importance of the higher-order continuum state couplings for an understanding of the measurements.

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How unique is the Asymptotic Normalisation Coefficient (ANC) method?

The asymptotic normalisation coefficients (ANC) for the vertex $^{10}$B $\to$ $^9$Be + p is deduced from a set of different proton transfer reactions at different energies. This set should ensure the peripheral character of the reaction and availability of data for the elastic channels. The problems associated with the characteristics of the data and the analysis are discussed. For a subgroup of the set of available data, the uniqueness property of the extracted ANC is fulfilled. However, more measurements are needed before a definite conclusion can be drawn.

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Transfer/Breakup Modes in the 6He+209Bi Reaction Near and Below the Coulomb Barrier

Reaction products from the interaction of 6He with 209Bi have been measured at energies near the Coulomb barrier. A 4He group of remarkable intensity, which dominates the total reaction cross section, has been observed. The angular distribution of the group suggests that it results primarily from a direct nuclear process. It is likely that this transfer/breakup channel is the doorway state that accounts for the previously observed large sub-barrier fusion enhancement in this system.

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Nucleosynthesis Constraints on a Scale-Dependent New Intermediate Range Interaction

We derive constraints on the strength of a new intermediate range interaction that couples to baryon number from primordial nucleosynthesis yields. The nucleosysnthesis limits here used arise from matching observations and predictions of standard and inhomogeneous primordial scenarios. We show that the standard nucleosynthesis scenario is more restrictive ($α_5 \lsim 0.2$) when the range of the interaction is greater than about 1 m. We further discuss the implications of considering the scalar particle responsible for the new interaction as the main component of the dark matter in the galactic halo such that its decay can account for the ionization of hydrogen in the interstellar medium and the temperature of Lyman-$α$ clouds.

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Uncertainties in extracting $S_{17}$ from transfers

The transfer reaction $^7{\rm Be(d,n)}^8{\rm B}$ is modelled for the recent low experimental energies using the DWBA. Tests of the validity of the ANC method for the extraction of the $S_{17}$ astrophysical factor are performed. We show that a peripheral assumption is no longer accurate for center of mass energies greater than approximately 15 MeV. In all cases we found that core deformation and/or excitation effects to be small as long as the optical potential for the entrance channel is not strongly surface peaked. Multistep corrections to the DWBA were found to be small. We also emphasize that the lack of knowledge of the optical potentials for the entrance and outgoing channels induces severe uncertainties in the extracted $S_{17}$ astrophysical factor.

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Multi-step effects in subcoulomb breakup

Following earlier one-step calculations, we explore the contributions of multi-step effects for the breakup of low energy $^8$B on $^{58}$Ni and $^{208}$Pb within a coupled discretised continuum channels (CDCC) formalism. The Coulomb multi-step differential cross section is significantly reduced for all angles, the largest effect being the destructive interference of nuclear couplings. The nuclear peak, at around $80^\circ$ in the one-step calculation for $^{58}$Ni, virtually disappears.

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Structure Effects on Coulomb Dissociation of $^8$B

Coulomb Dissociation provides an alternative method for determining the radiative capture cross sections at astrophysically relevant low relative energies. For the breakup of $^8$B on $^{58}$Ni, we calculate the total Coulomb Dissociation cross section and the angular distribution for E1, E2 and M1. Our calculations are performed first within the standard first order semiclassical theory of Coulomb Excitation, including the correct three body kinematics, and later including the projectile-target nuclear interactions.

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Nuclear Interference effects in 8B sub-Coulomb breakup

The breakup of $^8$B on $^{58}$Ni below the Coulomb barrier was measured recently with the aim of determining the Coulomb breakup components. We reexamine this reaction, and perform one step quantum-mechanical calculations that include E1, E2 and nuclear contributions. We show that the nuclear contribution is by no means negligible at the intermediate angular range where data was taken. Our results indicate that, for an accurate description of this reaction, Coulomb E1, E2 and nuclear processes all have to be taken into account.

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Effects of core degrees of freedom in the low energy $^7$Be$(p,γ)^8$B reaction

Quadrupole and octupole couplings to all bound states of $^7$Be are included in describing the capture reaction $^7$Be$(p,γ)^8$B. We verify, contrary to what we had initially stated, that the energy behaviour of the Astrophysical S-factor in the energy range of interest is not significantly sensitive to the core couplings in the g.s. (g.s.) of $^8$B although its overall magnitude is shifted. We find there is some sensitivity to the various deformation models when introducing the nuclear interaction for calculating the scattering states. The various deformation models predict quite different contributions to the quadrupole and magnetic moments but in order to compare with the data the quadrupole and magnetic moment of $^7$Be need to be measured.

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