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1. Effective field theory analysis of ³ He–α scattering data

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6471/ac4da6  

   Poudel, Maheshwor; Phillips, Daniel R (March 2022, Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics)

   Abstract We treat low-energy 3 He– α elastic scattering in an effective field theory (EFT) that exploits the separation of scales in this reaction. We compute the amplitude up to next-to-next-to-leading order, developing a hierarchy of the effective-range parameters (ERPs) that contribute at various orders. We use the resulting formalism to analyse data for recent measurements at center-of-mass energies of 0.38–3.12 MeV using the scattering of nuclei in inverse kinematics (SONIK) gas target at TRIUMF as well as older data in this energy regime. We employ a likelihood function that incorporates the theoretical uncertainty due to truncation of the EFT and use Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling to obtain the resulting posterior probability distribution. We find that the inclusion of a small amount of data on the analysing power A y is crucial to determine the sign of the p-wave splitting in such an analysis. The combination of A y and SONIK data constrains all ERPs up to O ( p 4 ) in both s- and p-waves quite well. The asymptotic normalisation coefficients and s-wave scattering length are consistent with a recent EFT analysis of the capture reaction 3 He( α , γ ) 7 Be. 

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2. Experimental study of ⁶ He Coulomb breakup as an indirect measurement of ⁴ He(2n, γ ) ⁶ He reaction rate for the astrophysical r-process

   https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202430402003  

   Godos, D; Acosta, L; Fernández-García, J P; O’Malley, P; Sánchez-Benítez, A M; Di_Pietro, A; Tumino, A; Vicente, A; Boomershine, C; Dembski, C; et al (January 2024, EPJ Web of Conferences)

   Pakou, A; Souliotis, G; Moustakidis, C (Ed.)

   In this work, we report the measurement of elastic and Coulomb break-up channels in⁶He+²⁰⁸Pb collisions at E_lab= 19.3 MeV, close to the Coulomb barrier of this system ∼ 19 MeV. In the context of the astrophysical r-process, the reaction⁴He(2n,γ)⁶He has been proposed to be a key reaction in the path of synthesizing seed nuclei for the r-process, as¹²C, in an environment composed mainly of alpha particles and neutrons. Based on a theoretical approach for treating three body reactions by means of which its reaction rate can be inferred, our experimental approach aims to obtain an indirect measurement of the reaction rate of⁴He(2n,γ)⁶He by measuring the Coulomb breakup of⁶He under the intense electric field produced by a²⁰⁸Pb target nucleus. The experiment was carried out at the TriSol facility operated in the Nuclear Science Laboratory of the University of Notre Dame, USA, which delivered a⁶He beam together with other contaminants. Particular care must be taken for the alpha particles produced in the production reaction. 

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3. Experimental study of the proton-transfer reaction C + H ₂ ⁺ → CH ⁺ + H and its isotopic variant (D ₂ ⁺ )

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D0CP04810K  

   Hillenbrand, Pierre-Michel; Bowen, Kyle P.; Dayou, Fabrice; Miller, Kenneth A.; de Ruette, Nathalie; Urbain, Xavier; Savin, Daniel W. (December 2020, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics)

   We report absolute integral cross section (ICS) measurements using a dual-source merged-fast-beams apparatus to study the titular reactions over the relative translational energy range of E r ∼ 0.01–10 eV. We used photodetachment of C − to produce a pure beam of atomic C in the ground electronic 3 P term, with statistically populated fine-structure levels. The H 2 + and D 2 + were formed in an electron impact ionization source, with well known vibrational and rotational distributions. The experimental work is complemented by a theoretical study of the CH 2 + electronic system in the reactant and product channels, which helps to clarify the possible reaction mechanisms underlying the ICS measurements. Our measurements provide evidence that the reactions are barrierless and exoergic. They also indicate the apparent absence of an intermolecular isotope effect, to within the total experimental uncertainties. Capture models, taking into account either the charge-induced dipole interaction potential or the combined charge-quadrupole and charge-induced dipole interaction potentials, produce reaction cross sections that lie a factor of ∼4 above the experimental results. Based on our theoretical study, we hypothesize that the reaction is most likely to proceed adiabatically through the 1 4 A′ and 1 4 A′′ states of CH 2 + via the reaction C( 3 P) + H 2 + ( 2 Σ+g) → CH + ( 3 Π) + H( 2 S). We also hypothesize that at low collision energies only H 2 + ( v ≤ 2) and D 2 + ( v ≤ 3) contribute to the titular reactions, due to the onset of dissociative charge transfer for higher vibrational v levels. Incorporating these assumptions into the capture models brings them into better agreement with the experimental results. Still, for energies ≲0.1 eV where capture models are most relevant, the modified charge-induced dipole model yields reaction cross sections with an incorrect energy dependence and lying ∼10% below the experimental results. The capture cross section obtained from the combined charge-quadrupole and charge-induced dipole model better matches the measured energy dependence but lies ∼30–50% above the experimental results. These findings provide important guidance for future quasiclassical trajectory and quantum mechanical treatments of this reaction. 

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4. Solid-state ¹¹ B NMR studies of coinage metal complexes containing a phosphine substituted diboraanthracene ligand

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d1dt02981a  

   Huynh, Winn; Taylor, Jordan W.; Harman, W. Hill; Conley, Matthew P. (October 2021, Dalton Transactions)

   Transition metal interactions with Lewis acids (M → Z linkages) are fundamentally interesting and practically important. The most common Z-type ligands contain boron, which contains an NMR active 11 B nucleus. We measured solid-state 11 B{ 1 H} NMR spectra of copper, silver, and gold complexes containing a phosphine substituted 9,10-diboraanthracene ligand (B 2 P 2 ) that contain planar boron centers and weak M → BR 3 linkages ([(B 2 P 2 )M][BAr F 4 ] (M = Cu (1), Ag (2), Au (3)) characterized by large quadrupolar coupling ( C Q ) values (4.4–4.7 MHz) and large span ( Ω ) values (93–139 ppm). However, the solid-state 11 B{ 1 H} NMR spectrum of K[Au(B 2 P 2 )] − (4), which contains tetrahedral borons, is narrow and characterized by small C Q and Ω values. DFT analysis of 1–4 shows that C Q and Ω are expected to be large for planar boron environments and small for tetrahedral boron, and that the presence of a M → BR 3 linkage relates to the reduction in C Q and 11 B NMR shielding properties. Thus solid-state 11 B NMR spectroscopy contains valuable information about M → BR 3 linkages in complexes containing the B 2 P 2 ligand. 

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5. Indirect Measurement of the ³ He(n,p) ³ H Reaction Cross Section at Big Bang Energies

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad7f4f  

   Pizzone, R G; Sergi, M L; Oliva, A A; Zanatta-Martinez, T; Lamia, L; Spartá, R; Guardo, G L; La_Cognata, M; D’Agata, G; Palmerini, S; et al (November 2024, The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract Neutron-induced nuclear reactions play an important role in the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. Their excitation functions are, from an experimental point of view, usually difficult to measure. Nevertheless, in the last decades, big efforts have led to a better understanding of their role in the primordial nucleosynthesis network. In this work, we apply the Trojan Horse Method to extract the cross section at astrophysical energies for the³He(n,p)³H reaction after a detailed study of the²H(³He,pt)H three-body process. Data extracted from the present measurement are compared with other published sets. The reaction rate is also calculated, and the impact on the Big Bang nucleosynthesis is examined in detail. 

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