Are present reaction theories for studying rare isotopes good enough?

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent developments in nuclear reaction theories for rare isotopes, assessing their reliability and efforts to improve the accuracy of predicted observables crucial for nuclear structure and astrophysics.

Contribution

It presents recent studies on transfer and breakup reactions, evaluating the reliability of current theories and efforts to reduce ambiguities in predictions.

Findings

Assessment of existing reaction theories' reliability

Efforts to reduce ambiguities in predicted observables

Improved understanding of transfer and breakup reactions

Abstract

Rare isotopes are most often studied through nuclear reactions. Nuclear reactions can be used to obtain detailed structure information but also in connection to astrophysics to determine specific capture rates. In order to extract the desired information it is crucial to have a reliable framework that describes the reaction process accurately. A few recent developments for transfer and breakup reactions will be presented. These include recent studies on the reliability of existing theories as well as effort to reduce the ambiguities in the predicted observables.