Weak decay of halo nuclei

TL;DR

This paper develops a theoretical framework to analyze the weak decay processes of halo nuclei into proton-core continuum states, comparing predictions with experimental data and providing new insights into decay mechanisms.

Contribution

It introduces a cluster effective field theory approach for halo nuclei decay, including resonant interactions, and applies it to $^{11}$Be and $^{19}$C with predictive capabilities.

Findings

Calculated decay into continuum for $^{11}$Be matches experimental branching ratios.

Included resonant final state interactions significantly affect decay predictions.

Predicted branching ratio for $^{19}$C decay provides testable future experimental data.

Abstract

We investigate the weak decay of one-neutron halo nuclei into the proton-core continuum, i.e., beta-delayed proton emission from the halo nucleus using a cluster effective field theory for halo nuclei. On the one hand, we calculate the direct decay into the continuum. On the other hand, we consider the case of resonant final state interactions between the proton and the core. We present our formalism and discuss the application to the decay of $^{11}$Be in detail. Moreover, we compare to recent experimental results for the branching ratio and resonance parameters. As another example, we consider the case of $^{19}$C and predict the branching ratio for beta-delayed proton emission.