Trojan Horse particle invariance for ²H(d,p)³H reaction: a detailed study

The basic idea of the Trojan Horse Method (THM) is to extract the cross section in the low-energy region of a two-body reaction with significant astrophysical impact: a + x → c + C from a suitable quasi-free (QF) break-up of the so called Trojan Horse nucleus, e.g. A=x (+) s where usually x is referred to as the participant and s as the spectator particle. In the last decades the Trojan Horse method has played a crucial role for the measurement of several charged particle induced reactions cross sections of astrophysical interest. To better understand its cornerstones and its applications to physical cases many tests were performed to verify all its properties and the possible future perspectives. The Trojan Horse nucleus invariance for the binary d(d,p)t reaction was therefore tested using the quasi free ²H(⁶Li, pt)⁴He and ²H(³He,pt)H reactions after ⁶Li and ³He break-up, respectively. The astrophysical S(E)-factor for the d(d,p)t binary process was then extracted in the framework of the Plane Wave Approximation applied to the two different break-up schemes. Polynomial fits were then performed on the data giving S₀ = (75 ± 21) keV*b in the case of the ⁶Li break-up, while for ³He one obtains S₀= (58 ± 2) keV*b. The obtained results are compared with direct data as well as with previous indirect investigations. The very good agreement confirms the applicability of the plane wave approximation and suggests the independence of binary indirect cross section on the chosen Trojan Horse nucleus also for the present case