R-Matrix description of particle energy spectra produced by low-energy T+T reactions

TL;DR

This paper introduces an R-matrix model for three-body final states, applied to neutron spectra from T+T reactions, successfully fitting experimental data and predicting other particle spectra, demonstrating the model's broad applicability.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel, general R-matrix approach for modeling three-body final states in nuclear reactions, including detailed interactions and interference effects.

Findings

Good fit to measured neutron spectrum from T+T reaction

Evidence for 5He ground state in the spectrum

Model predicts alpha and other particle spectra accurately

Abstract

An R-matrix model for three-body final states is presented and applied to a recent measurement of the neutron energy spectrum from the T+T->2n+alpha reaction. The calculation includes the n-alpha and n-n interactions in the final state, angular momentum conservation, antisymmetrization, and the interference between different channels. A good fit to the measured spectrum is obtained, where clear evidence for the 5He ground state is observed. The model is also used to predict the alpha-particle spectrum from T+T as well as particle spectra from 3He+3He. The R-matrix approach presented here is very general, and can be adapted to a wide variety of problems with three-body final states.