Enhanced production of neutron-rich rare isotopes in peripheral collisions at Fermi energies

A large enhancement in the production of neutron-rich projectile residues is observed in the reactions of a 25 MeV/nucleon 86Kr beam with the neutron-rich 124Sn and 64Ni targets relative to the predictions of the EPAX parametrization of high-energy fragmentation, as well as relative to the reaction with the less neutron-rich 112Sn target. A hybrid model based on a deep-inelastic transfer (DIT) code followed by a statistical deexcitation code accounts for part of the observed large cross sections. The DIT simulation indicates that the production of neutron-rich nuclides in these reactions is associated with peripheral nucleon exchange in which the neutron skins of the neutron-rich 124Sn and 64Ni target nuclei may play an important role. From a practical viewpoint, such reactions offer a novel synthetic avenue to access extremely neutron-rich rare isotopes towards the neutron-drip line.