A new method for determining nuclear reaction times

A method is proposed for determining nuclear reaction times based on the oscillatory nature of particle motion in a planar crystal channel. The method has been tested using the 27Al(p, α)24Mg resonance reaction at Esub(p) = 505 keV. The asymmetry of the dip shoulder is analyzed experimentally as a function of the depth of the resonance zone. The value #betta#sub(perpendicular to)tau is estimated analytically from a model of particle motion in a channel which includes the diffuse structure of crystallographic planes resulting from thermal atomic vibrations. (orig.)