# Linking nuclear reactions and nuclear structure to study exotic nuclei using the dispersive optical model

## TL;DR

This paper employs the dispersive optical model to connect nuclear reactions and structure, accurately describing scattering data and ground-state properties of several nuclei, and predicting neutron skins with potential extensions to rare isotopes.

## Contribution

It introduces a fully non-local dispersive optical model analysis that links reaction data with nuclear structure, including neutron skin predictions and extensions to exotic nuclei.

## Key findings

- Successful description of elastic scattering and ground-state data for ${}^{40}$Ca, ${}^{48}$Ca, and ${}^{208}$Pb.
- Prediction of neutron skin thickness for nuclei with N > Z.
- Identification of ongoing developments for non-local DOM analysis of ${}^{208}$Pb.

## Abstract

The dispersive optical model (DOM) is employed to simultaneously describe elastic nucleon scattering data for ${}^{40}$Ca, ${}^{48}$Ca, and ${}^{208}$Pb as well as observables related to the ground state of these nuclei, with emphasis on the charge density. Such an analysis requires a fully non-local implementation of the DOM including its imaginary component. Illustrations are provided how ingredients thus generated provide critical components for the description of the $(d,p)$ and $(e,e'p)$ reaction. For the nuclei with $N > Z$ the neutron distribution is constrained by available elastic scattering and ground-state data thereby generating a prediction for the neutron skin. We identify ongoing developments including a non-local DOM analysis for ${}^{208}$Pb and point out possible extensions of the method to secure a successful extension of the DOM to rare isotopes.