Validity test of the Trojan Horse Method applied to the (7)Li + p -> alpha plus alpha reaction via the (3)He break-up

The Trojan Horse Method (THM) was applied to the (3)He+(7)Li interaction in order to investigate the quasi-free (7)Li(p, alpha)(4)He reaction. The three-body experiment was performed at 33 MeV corresponding to a (7)Li-p relative energy ranging from 50 keV to 7 MeV. The extracted (7)Li(p, alpha)(4)He quasi-free cross-section was compared with the behavior of direct data, as well as with the result of a previous THM investigation on the (7)Li(p, alpha)(4)He reaction off the neutron in (2)H. A good agreement between data sets shows up throughout the energy range investigated, providing a very important validity test of the pole approximation for the THM.