Nuclear reaction 6Li(3He, p)8Be*[16.63; 16.92] at sub-barrier energies

Abstract

We investigate low-energy modes of the 6Li(3He, p) nuclear reaction leading to a production of 8Be nuclei in 16.63 and 16.92 MeV excited states which may have important applications in nuclear fusion research. An extrapolation procedure developed previously is used to calculate reaction cross sections σ at energies below 1 MeV and the corresponding Maxwellian rate parameters ⟨σv⟩ in the 0–200 keV temperature range. A significant discrepancy between the present values of ⟨σv⟩ and those accepted elsewhere is marked at low temperatures. An effect of low-energy resonances associated with highly excited states in the compound nucleus 9B is discussed. The calculated 6Li + 3He reaction cross sections and rate parameters are tabulated.