Introduction of surrogate approach for determining nuclear reaction cross sections

The surrogate nuclear reaction approach plays an important role in the determination of nuclear reaction cross sections that are difficult to be measured directly. In this paper, we investigate its basis, factors affecting its accuracy, and its three variants: the external surrogate ratio method (ESRM), the internal surrogate ratio method (ISRM) and the hybrid surrogate ratio method (HSRM). Each method was described, and their applications or experimental tests were given, from which we could see their respective advantages and disadvantages. And it is found that the spin-parity mismatch, or the (weak) Weisskopf-Ewing limit equivalently, is an inherent limitation of the approach. It is also seen that the surrogate approach can reach a high accuracy, so it is a good indirect approach when the nuclear reaction cross sections are unavailable to be measured directly. (authors)