Indirect Investigation of the D + 6Li Reaction at Low Energies Relevant for Nuclear Astrophysics

Abstract

The indirect investigation of low-energy charged-particle reactions relevant for nuclear astrophysics is considered, employing statistical tensor analysis. Data from the quasi-free contribution to the {sup 6}Li({sup 6}Li, 2{alpha}){sup 4}He reaction at projectile energies above the Coulomb barrier are analyzed in order to extract the excitation function of the {sup 6}Li({ital d},{alpha}){sup 4}He reaction at very low relative energy. The results are compared with an astrophysical factor extracted from the free-reaction cross section data. The limits of the method are discussed. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Astronomical Society.}