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Knockout reactions from p-shell nuclei: tests of ab initio structure models
1National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA. grinyer@ganil.fr
Variational Monte Carlo calculations including three-body forces best describe neutron knockout reactions in light nuclei like Beryllium-10 and Carbon-10. This research highlights the significance of three-body forces and continuum effects in nuclear physics.
Area of Science:
- Nuclear Physics
- Quantum Many-Body Theory
Background:
- Investigating the structure of light nuclei is crucial for understanding nuclear forces.
- Neutron knockout reactions provide insights into nucleon distributions and wave functions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine absolute cross sections for single neutron knockout reactions from Beryllium-10 and Carbon-10.
- To assess the accuracy of ab initio calculations, including variational Monte Carlo (VMC) and no-core shell model (NCSM), in describing these reactions.
- To understand the role of three-body forces and continuum effects in light nuclei.
Main Methods:
- Experimental measurement of absolute cross sections for single neutron knockout reactions.
- Theoretical analysis incorporating nucleon density distributions and bound-state wave function overlaps from VMC and NCSM calculations.
- Comparison of theoretical predictions with experimental data.
Main Results:
- The VMC approach, incorporating three-body forces, showed the best agreement with experimental cross sections.
- NCSM and conventional shell-model calculations overpredicted the cross sections for both Beryllium-10 (20-30%) and Carbon-10 (40-50%).
Conclusions:
- Three-body forces and continuum effects are important in describing light nuclei.
- The VMC method, with three-body forces, is a reliable approach for theoretical descriptions of knockout reactions.
- This study offers a sensitive method for evaluating the accuracy of ab initio calculations for nuclear structure phenomena.
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