scholarly journals Chemical‐Reaction Cross Sections, Quasiequilibrium, and Generalized Activated Complexes

1966 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 2138-2144 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Marcus
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Reaction ◽  
Cross Sections ◽  
Reaction Cross ◽  
Reaction Cross Sections

Formation of α clusters in dilute neutron-rich matter

Science ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 371 (6526) ◽  
pp. 260-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junki Tanaka ◽  
Zaihong Yang ◽  
Stefan Typel ◽  
Satoshi Adachi ◽  
Shiwei Bai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
Cluster Formation ◽  
Reaction Cross ◽  
Skin Thickness ◽  
Neutron Skin ◽  
Heavy Nuclei ◽  
Α Decay ◽  
Neutron Skin Thickness ◽  
Reaction Cross Sections ◽  
Α Particles

The surface of neutron-rich heavy nuclei, with a neutron skin created by excess neutrons, provides an important terrestrial model system to study dilute neutron-rich matter. By using quasi-free α cluster–knockout reactions, we obtained direct experimental evidence for the formation of α clusters at the surface of neutron-rich tin isotopes. The observed monotonous decrease of the reaction cross sections with increasing mass number, in excellent agreement with the theoretical prediction, implies a tight interplay between α-cluster formation and the neutron skin. This result, in turn, calls for a revision of the correlation between the neutron-skin thickness and the density dependence of the symmetry energy, which is essential for understanding neutron stars. Our result also provides a natural explanation for the origin of α particles in α decay.

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