Further Measurements of the Angular Distribution of a-Particles from the Li⁷(p,α)He⁴ Reaction

Abstract

The angular distribution of the cc-particles from the Li⁷(p,α)He⁴ reaction has been measured for a proton energy range 0.3 to 0.9 MeV, using scintillation counter technique. A statistical analysis of the observations has been undertaken and results have been compared with those of other experiments. The angular distribution is well represented by the expression              Y(θ) =Y(90°)[l +A(E)cos²θ + B(E)cos⁴θ], where A(E) and B(E) are energy dependent parameters denoting the departure from spherical symmetry and implying that p and f protons are important in the reaction. Curves of A(E) and B(E), of the theoretical form given by Inglis, have been fitted to the combined data of recent experiments analysed according to the above expression.