Features of the (t,p) reaction below the Coulomb barrier of the entrance channel

Abstract
The differential cross sections for the reactions Cu63,65(t,p)Cu65,67 were measured at Et=3.2, 3.0, and 2.8 MeV. For L=0 ground-state transitions, the energy dependence of the values of the differential cross sections is strong and exponential, while the angular distribution shape, which is of a clear diffraction pattern in sharp contrast to the case of the sub-Coulomb (d,p) reaction, does not change with small energy variation. The reactions proceed well below the Coulomb barrier of the entrance channel, yet through a direct process. A definite difference is observed between the angular distributions for the two ground-state transitions. The zero-range distorted-wave Born approximation can reproduce the energy dependence of the differential cross sections and the trend of isotope dependence of the angular distribution. In distorted-wave Born approximation calculations, a definite nuclear optical potential is needed for the triton-nucleus channel which is below the Coulomb barrier, in sharp contrast to the sub-Coulomb (d,p) reaction. The triton-nucleus optical potential below the Coulomb barrier is nearly equal to the optical potential that works at energies of a few tens of MeV. The angular distribution for an L=2 transition is forward-rising, though not diffractionlike, and can be reproduced on the whole by the zero-range distorted-wave Born approximation. It is confirmed for the first time that the (t,p) reaction below the Coulomb barrier of the entrance channel takes place in an extended region outside the nucleus. It is argued and concluded on various grounds that the (t,p) angular distribution shape below the Coulomb barrier of the entrance channel is sensitive to the radial two-neutron from factor outside the nucleus. Physical implications of the revealed features are discussed, especially on the coherence of the two-particle form factor and the proton and neutron distributions in the nuclear surface region.