Proton Transfer Reactions Studied Using the Versatile Array of Neutron Detectors at Low Energy (VANDLE)

Single nucleon transfer reactions are powerful tools for the study of nuclear structure. In inverse kinematics, proton transfer reactions, such as (d,n), may be used to study the properties of short-lived radioactive ion beams (RIBs). By measuring the outgoing neutron, it is possible to extract spectroscopic information about the proton states of the recoil nucleus. With the development of new accelerator facilities, such as FRIB in the U.S., comes the need for new spectroscopic tools for use with RIBs. The Versatile Array of Neutron Detectors at Low Energy (VANDLE) was used to measure ¹²C(d,n) in inverse kinematics between equivalent deuteron energies of 3.1 MeV and 7.0 MeV and ¹⁶O(d,n) at 8.0 MeV. Angular distributions are shown for transfer to the ground state and first excited state of ¹³N as well as the ground state and first excited state of 17F. Excitation functions for ¹²C(d,n) are shown for center-of-mass angles between 3 degrees and 70 degrees. Developments of low energy proton transfer measurements in inverse kinematics are discussed and angular distributions are compared to literature.