Probing the exotic structure of ⁸B by its elastic scattering and breakup reaction on nuclear targets

The structure of the exotic ⁸B nucleus is studied by means of elastic scattering, as well as its breakup on nuclear targets. We present microscopic calculations of the optical potentials (OPs) and cross sections of elastic scattering of ⁸B on ¹²C, ⁵⁸Ni, and ²⁰⁸Pb targets at energies 20 < E < 170 MeV. The density distributions of ⁸B obtained within the variational Monte Carlo (VMC) model and the three-cluster model (3CM) are used to construct the potentials. The real part of the hybrid OP is calculated using the folding model with the direct and exchange terms included, while the imaginary part is obtained on the base of the high-energy approximation (HEA) and also taken to be equal to the microscopic real part of the OP. In this model the only free parameters are the depths of the real and imaginary parts of OP obtained by fitting the elastic scattering experimental data. A dependence of their values on the model density of ⁸ B is found. In addition, the cluster model, in which ⁸B consists of a p-halo and the ⁷ Be core, is applied to calculate the breakup cross sections of the ⁸B nucleus on ⁹Be, ¹²C, and ¹⁹⁷Au targets, as well as momentum distributions of ⁷Be fragments, and a comparison with the existing experimental data is made. (orig.)