Wide-angle and out-of-plane correlations in 7Li fragmentation

Angular correlation distributions have been measured for the break-up of 70 MeV 7Li into the α+t channel following interaction with u2C and 120Sn targets. Large area silicon strip detectors were used to measure efficiently both in-plane and out-of-plane correlations. The yield of the fragments is found to spread over a wider angular range than would be expected for sequential decay of the projectile. These wide-angle yields are considered to arise from a rapid break-up of the projectile in the nuclear field of the target. The strong in-plane yield suggests that the final channel fragments are simply being deflected by the target nucleus rather than by an absorption-re-emission process. (orig.)