New probe to study the symmetry energy at low nuclear density with the deuteron breakup reaction

Abstract

The reactions of nucleon and polarized deuteron scattered off a heavy target at large impact parameter with intermediate energies have been investigated by using the improved quantum molecular dynamics model. It is found that, due to the difference effect of isovector potential on proton and neutron, there is a significant difference between the angle distribution of elastic scattering protons and neutrons. To overcome the lack of monochromatic neutron beam, the reaction of polarized deuteron peripherally scattered off the heavy target is used to replace the reaction of individual proton and neutron scattered off heavy target to study the isospin effect. It is found that the distributions of elastic scattering angle of proton and neutron originating from the breakup of deuteron are very similar to the results of the individual proton- and neutron-induced reaction. A new probe more effective and more clean, namely the difference between elastic scattering angle of proton and neutron originating from the breakup of polarized deuteron, is promoted to constrain the symmetry energy at subsaturation density.