Theoretical and empirical status of the two-deuteron-alpha-particle vertex

The two-deuteron-alpha-particle overlap, including its D-wave component, is evaluated in the case of realistic two- and four-body wavefunctions. The deduced theoretical value is compared with improved empirical estimates based upon DWBA analyses of (d,α) reactions in the sd shell and which incorporate the best available shell-model information for the nuclear states involved. The theoretical and empirical values of this analysis are in agreement. The result differs substantially from other recent empirical estimates obtained from (d,α) reactions upon heavier target nuclei and from simple theoretical estimates which make use of a point-deuteron approximation. (author)