Comparison of electromagnetic and nuclear dissociation of 17Ne
Wamers, F. . 2018
The Borromean dripline nucleus 17Ne has been suggested to possess a two-proton halo structure in its ground state. In the astrophysical rp process, where the two-proton capture reaction 15O(2p, γ) 17Ne, plays an important role, the calculated reaction rate differs by several orders of magnitude between different theoretical approaches. To add to the understanding of 17Ne structure we have studied nuclear and electromagnetic dissociation. A 500 MeV/u 17Ne beam was directed towards lead, carbon and polyethylene targets. Oxygen isotopes in the final state were measured in coincidence with one or two protons. Different reaction branches in the dissociation of 17Ne were disentangled. The relative populations of s- and d-states in 16F were determined for light and heavy targets. The differential cross section for electromagnetic dissociation (EMD) shows a continuous internal energy spectrum in the three-body system 15O+2p. The 17Ne EMD data were compared to current theoretical models. None of them yields, however, satisfactory agreement with the experimental data presented here. These new data may facilitate future development of adequate models for description of the fragmentation process.
