arXiv subjects

Pierre Capel

Publications and source records attributed to Pierre Capel.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Reconciling Coulomb breakup and neutron radiative capture

The Coulomb-breakup method to extract the cross section for neutron radiative capture at astrophysical energies is analyzed in detail. In particular, its sensitivity to the description of the neutron-core continuum is ascertained. We consider the case of 14C(n, $γ$)15C for which both the radiative capture at low energy and the Coulomb breakup of 15C into 14C+n on Pb at 68 MeV/nucleon have been measured with accuracy. We confirm the direct proportionality of the cross section for both reactions to the square of the asymptotic normalization constant of 15C observed by Summers and Nunes [Phys. Rev. C 78, 011601 (2008)], but we also show that the 14C-n continuum plays a significant role in the calculations. Fortunately, the method proposed by Summers and Nunes can be improved to absorb that continuum dependence. We show that a more precise radiative-capture cross section can be extracted selecting the breakup data at forward angles and low 14C-n relative energies.

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arXiv2017

Analysis of corrections to the eikonal approximation

Various corrections to the eikonal approximations are studied for two- and three-body nuclear collisions with the goal to extend the range of validity of this approximation to beam energies of 10 MeV/nucleon. Wallace's correction does not improve much the elastic-scattering cross sections obtained at the usual eikonal approximation. On the contrary, a semiclassical approximation that substitutes the impact parameter by a complex distance of closest approach computed with the projectile-target optical potential efficiently corrects the eikonal approximation. This opens the possibility to analyze data measured down to 10 MeV/nucleon within eikonal-like reaction models.

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arXiv2017

Study of corrections to the eikonal approximation

For the last decades, multiple international facilities have developed Radioactive-Ion Beams (RIB) to measure reaction processes including exotic nuclei. These measurements coupled with an accurate theoretical model of the reaction enable us to infer information about the structure of these nuclei. The partial-wave expansion provides a precise description of two-body collisions but has a large computational cost. To cope with this issue, the eikonal approximation is a powerful tool as it reduces the computational time and still describes the quantum effects observed in reaction observables. However, its range of validity is restricted to high energy and to forward scattering angles. In this work, we analyse the extension of the eikonal approximation to lower energies and larger angles through the implementation of two corrections. These aim to improve the treatment of the nuclear and Coulomb interactions within the eikonal model. The first correction is based on an expansion of the $T$-matrix while the second relies on a semi-classical approach. They permit to better account for the deflection of the projectile by the target, which is neglected in the standard eikonal model. The gain in accuracy of each correction is evaluated through the analyses of angular cross sections computed with the standard eikonal model, its corrections and the partial-wave expansion. These analyses have been performed for tightly bound projectiles ($^{10}\mathrm{Be}$) from intermediate energies (67 MeV/nucleon) down to energies of interest of future RIB facilities such as HIE-ISOLDE and ReA12 at MSU (10 MeV/nucleon).

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arXiv2016

From the Coulomb breakup of halo nuclei to neutron radiative capture

Coulomb breakup is used to infer radiative-capture cross sections at astrophysical energies. We test theoretically the accuracy of this indirect technique in the particular case of 15C, for which both the Coulomb breakup to ^{14}C+n and the radiative capture 14C(n,γ)15C have been measured. We analyse the dependance of Coulomb-breakup calculations on the projectile description in both its initial bound state and its continuum. Our calculations depend not only on the Asymptotic Normalisation Coefficient (ANC) of the 15C ground state, but also on the 14C-n continuum. This questions the method proposed by Summers and Nunes [Phys. Rev. C 78, 011601 (2008), ibid. 78, 069908 (2008)], which assumes that an ANC can be directly extracted from the comparison of calculations to breakup data. Fortunately, the sensitivity to the continuum description can be absorbed in a normalisation constant obtained by a simple χ2 fit of our calculations to the measurements. By restricting this fit to low 14C-n energy in the continuum, we can achieve a better agreement between the radiative-capture cross sections inferred from the Coulomb-breakup method and the exact ones. This result revives the Coulomb-breakup technique to infer neutron radiative-capture capture to loosely-bound states, which would be very useful for r- and s-process modelling in explosive stellar environments.

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arXiv2014

Study of clustering structures through breakup reactions

Models for the description of breakup reactions used to study the structure of exotic cluster structures like halos are reviewed. The sensitivity of these models to the projectile description is presented. Calculations are sensitive to the projectile ground state mostly through its asymptotic normalisation coefficient (ANC). They also probe the continuum of the projectile. This enables studying not only the bound states of the projectile but also its continuum, both resonant and non-resonant. This opens the possibility to study correlations between both halo neutrons in two-neutron halo nuclei.

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arXiv2014

Extending the Eikonal Approximation to Low Energy

E-CDCC and DEA, two eikonal-based reaction models are compared to CDCC at low energy (e.g. 20AMeV) to study their behaviour in the regime at which the eikonal approximation is supposed to fail. We confirm that these models lack the Coulomb deflection of the projectile by the target. We show that a hybrid model, built on the CDCC framework at low angular momenta and the eikonal approximation at larger angular momenta gives a perfect agreement with CDCC. An empirical shift in impact parameter can also be used reliably to simulate this missing Coulomb deflection.

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arXiv2014

Analysis of a low-energy correction to the eikonal approximation

Extensions of the eikonal approximation to low energy (20MeV/nucleon typically) are studied. The relation between the dynamical eikonal approximation (DEA) and the continuum-discretized coupled-channels method with the eikonal approximation (E-CDCC) is discussed. When Coulomb interaction is artificially turned off, DEA and E-CDCC are shown to give the same breakup cross section, within 3% error, of $^{15}$C on $^{208}$Pb at 20MeV/nucleon. When the Coulomb interaction is included, the difference is appreciable and none of these models agrees with full CDCC calculations. An empirical correction significantly reduces this difference. In addition, E-CDCC has a convergence problem. By including a quantum-mechanical correction to E-CDCC for lower partial waves between $^{15}$C and $^{208}$Pb, this problem is resolved and the result perfectly reproduces full CDCC calculations at a lower computational cost.

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arXiv2014

Open issues in extracting nuclear structure information from the breakup of exotic nuclei

The open issues in the development of models for the breakup of exotic nuclei and the link with the extraction of structure information from experimental data are reviewed. The question of the improvement of the description of exotic nuclei within reaction models is approached in the perspective of previous analyses of the sensitivity of these models to that description. Future developments of reaction models are suggested, such as the inclusion of various channels within one model. The search for new reaction observables that can emphasise more details of exotic nuclear structure is also proposed.

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arXiv2009

Influence of low energy scattering on loosely bound states

Compact algebraic equations are derived, which connect the binding energy and the asymptotic normalization constant (ANC) of a subthreshold bound state with the effective-range expansion of the corresponding partial wave. These relations are established for positively-charged and neutral particles, using the analytic continuation of the scattering (S) matrix in the complex wave-number plane. Their accuracy is checked on simple local potential models for the 16O+n, 16O+p and 12C+alpha nuclear systems, with exotic nuclei and nuclear astrophysics applications in mind.

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