Be9(Li7,Li8)Be8Reaction in a Coulomb-Distorted Wave Approximation

The angular distributions of the ${\mathrm{Be}}^9$ (${\mathrm{Li}}^7$,${\mathrm{Li}}^8$)${\mathrm{Be}}^8$ reaction, measured between 2 and 4 MeV by Norbeck et al., are compared with a theory for the differential cross section which has been derived for ($d, p$) reactions at low bombarding energies on heavy nuclei, trivially modified to apply to the reaction under consideration. The theory uses Coulomb wave functions to describe the relative motion in the initial and final states of the system. The only parameter is a normalization constant which is determined by comparison with experiment at one energy. The theory is in good agreement with experiment at forward angles, and it is suggested that refinements in experimental technique may cause better agreement at back angles. Results for the classical theory of the reaction as given by Allison are also presented for comparison.