Near-threshold resonances in 11C and the 10B(p,{\alpha})7Be aneutronic reaction cross section

TL;DR

This study investigates near-threshold resonances in 11C and their impact on the 10B(p,α)7Be reaction cross section, revealing potential enhancements relevant for aneutronic fusion processes in plasma environments.

Contribution

It introduces a shell model embedded in the continuum to analyze resonance collectivization and predicts increased reaction cross sections at plasma-accessible energies.

Findings

Resonance collectivization significantly affects reaction cross sections.

Predicted enhancement of 10B(p,α)7Be cross section at low energies.

Implications for boron-proton fusion reactor environments.

Abstract

The nucleus 11C plays an important role in the boron-proton fusion reactor environment as a catalyzer of the 10B(p,{\alpha})7Be reaction which, by producing a long-lived isotope of 7Be, poisons the aneutronic fusion process 11B(p,2{\alpha})4He. The low-energy cross section of 10B(p,{\alpha})7Be depends on the near-threshold states 7/2+1 , 5/2+2 , 5/2+3 in 11C whose properties are primarily known from the indirect measurements. We investigate the continuum-coupling induced collectivization of these resonances in the shell model embedded in the continuum. We predict a significant enhancement of the 10B(p,{\alpha})7Be cross section at energies accessible to the laser-driven hot plasma facilities.