Breakup of 15 MeV polarized deuterons on ⁴He

Abstract

Differential cross sections and vector analyzing powers have been measured for the ${}^4\text{He(}\text{d}\text{,}\text{P}\text{)}{}^4\text{He}\text{n}$ reaction at E_d = 15 MeV for twelve angles between 15° and 85°. The most prominent feature of the cross sections as a function of proton energy is the maximum corresponding to the n-⁴He interaction in the ⁵He ground state. The vector analyzing power is for the most part negative, with a broad minimum in the vicinity of the peak in the cross section. An analysis of the data has been made using the modified impulse approximation. The theory succeeds fairly well in reproducing the cross-section data for angles up to 40°. For larger angles, the magnitude of the calculated cross section is too large for small ifE_p. The negative analyzing power is also predicted, but the agreement with the measured energy variation is in need of improvement at some angles.