Probing reaction mechanisms through residual cross section measurement for 7Li+Zn system

Abstract

Abstract Though the picture remains incoherent to draw a concrete conclusion, especially with weakly bound particles, prolific efforts have been devoted to unfolding the reaction mechanisms at energies below 10 MeV/u. The dearth of extensive data and ambiguous findings in the light to medium mass region galvanizes the exploration of the entire mass domain. In the course of discerning the underlying reaction mechanisms in 7Li fusion with natural Zn, the excitation function (EF) analysis has been reported within the energy range of 21–43 MeV. Residual cross sections have been measured employing the stacked foil activation technique followed by offline γ-spectroscopy. Subsequently, the measured EFs have been compared with theoretical predictions from statistical model codes PACE4 and EMPIRE3.2.2. EF analysis affirms the dominance of the complete fusion (CF) mechanism as revealed through the gross satisfaction of measured data from the n-emitting channels by both the model codes. The observed enhancement in subsequent channels relative to theory has been implicitly interpreted as the role of other mechanisms like breakup fusion and/or direct cluster transfer in populating residues owing to the low breakup threshold of weakly bound 7Li. A critical piece of experimental evidence concerning the discrepancy in the branching intensity of 93.31 keV γ-peak from the decay of 67Ga residue reported in various nuclear databases has been witnessed. Thus, the revised estimated intensity value has been reported, along with a discussion on the optimized production of Ga isotopes for medicinal applications.