alpha-particle production in the scattering of 6He by 208Pb at energies around the Coulomb barrier

TL;DR

This paper presents experimental data on 6He scattering with 208Pb near the Coulomb barrier, analyzing alpha particle production and suggesting two-neutron transfer as the main source of backward alpha emissions.

Contribution

It provides new experimental measurements and analysis of alpha particle yields in 6He+208Pb scattering at near-barrier energies, highlighting the role of two-neutron transfer.

Findings

Alpha particle yield is dominated by projectile breakup.

Backward alpha particles mainly originate from two-neutron transfer.

Experimental data agree with theoretical transfer models.

Abstract

New experimental data from the scattering of 6He+208Pb at energies around and below the Coulomb barrier are presented. The yield of breakup products coming from projectile fragmentation is dominated by a strong group of $\alpha$ particles. The energy and angular distributions of this group have been analyzed and compared with theoretical calculations. This analysis indicates that the $\alpha$ particles emitted at backward angles in this reaction are mainly due to two-neutron transfer to weakly bound states of the final nucleus.