The Glauber model and heavy ion reaction and elastic scattering cross sections

Abstract

We revisit the Glauber model to study the heavy ion reaction cross sections and elastic scattering angular distributions at low and intermediate energies. The Glauber model takes nucleon–nucleon cross sections and nuclear densities as inputs and has no free parameter and thus can predict the cross sections for unknown systems. The Glauber model works at low energies down to Coulomb barrier with very simple modifications. We present new parametrization of measured total cross sections as well as ratio of real to imaginary parts of the scattering amplitudes for pp and np collisions as a function of nucleon kinetic energy. The nuclear (charge) densities obtained by electron scattering form factors measured in large momentum transfer range are used in the calculations. The heavy ion reaction cross sections are calculated for light and heavy systems and are compared with available data measured over large energy range. The model gives excellent description of the data. The elastic scattering angular distributions are calculated for various systems at different energies. The model gives good description of the data at small momentum transfer but the calculations deviate from the data at large momentum transfer.