The processes by which the three particle final state is
formed in the He³(He³,2p)He⁴ reaction were investigated by observing the
angular distribution of coincidence events between the two protons as a
function of the angle between the protons. The reaction mechanism was
determined by comparing the experimental distribution with those predicted
for the various possible processes obtained from kinematic and phase space
arguments. The reaction was found to proceed predominantly by sequential
decays through unbound intermediate states and to a lesser extent by a
direct instantaneous three body breakup. The majority of the two stage
decays passed through the ground state of Li⁵ , The mean lifetime of this
state was measured and found to be (1.0 ± .3) x 10⁻²¹ sec There was also
good evidence of a sequential decay through the diproton state. In order
to fit the shape of the observed distribution it was necessary to assume
that a diproton system exists which is unbound by 600 keV and has a mean
lifetime of 1.5 x 10⁻²² sec However another possible interpretation is that a direct breakup occurs and the angular distribution of the protons is distorted by an attractive final state two proton interaction similar to the scattering interaction, although whether this interaction would be strong enough to produce the observed distribution is not known. A more quantitative three body decay theory is therefore necessary in order to draw any firm conclusions about the existence of the diproton state. / Science, Faculty of / Physics and Astronomy, Department of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/37930 |
| Date | January 1965 |
| Creators | Blackmore, Ewart William |
| Publisher | University of British Columbia |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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