Three-body correlations in direct reactions: Example of $^{6}$Be populated in $(p,n)$ reaction

TL;DR

This study investigates three-body correlations in $^{6}$Be produced via a charge-exchange reaction, providing detailed insights into the reaction mechanism through high-statistics data on $ ext{alpha} + p + p$ correlations.

Contribution

The paper demonstrates how high-statistics three-body correlation data can be used to extract detailed information on the reaction mechanism in direct nuclear reactions.

Findings

High-statistics data reveal detailed $ ext{alpha} + p + p$ correlations.

Reaction mechanism insights derived from spin alignment analysis.

Dominance of $0^+$ and $2^+$ states below 3 MeV excitation energy.

Abstract

The $^{6}$Be continuum states were populated in the charge-exchange reaction $^1$H($^{6}$Li,$^{6}$Be)$n$ collecting very high statistics data ($\sim 5 \times 10^6$ events) on the three-body $\alpha$+$p$+$p$ correlations. The $^{6}$Be excitation energy region below $\sim 3$ MeV is considered, where the data are dominated by contributions from the $0^+$ and $2^+$ states. It is demonstrated how the high-statistics few-body correlation data can be used to extract detailed information on the reaction mechanism. Such a derivation is based on the fact that highly spin-aligned states are typically populated in the direct reactions.