Study of the Li-6(n, alpha)H-3 reaction via the H-2 quasi-free break-up

The quasi-free break-up of deuteron was used to study the neutron-induced Li-6 + n reaction via the H-2(6Li, alpha H-3)p. The aim of the experiment was to check whether the deuteron can be considered as a source of virtual neutrons. This was done by studying the excitation function of the Li-6(n, alpha)H-3 two-body reaction at low energy where the resonance corresponding to the excited level at 7.454MeV of Li-7 is present. Two experimental runs were performed at the Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (LNS) in Catania, Italy. In both experiments, the energy and the position of the outgoing alpha and H-3 particles were measured and the kinematics were reconstructed assuming a proton as the third particle. The quasi-free events were selected in order to reconstruct the Li-6(n, alpha)H-3 cross section in the center-of-mass energy by using the plane wave impulse approximation approach. The obtained cross section is in very good agreement with the directly measured one.