Core-breakup reactions of the halo nuclei 11Be and 11Li:: momentum distributions and shadow effects

The halo nuclei Be-11 and Li-11 have been studied in core-breakup reactions where the halo neutrons are expected to be released without a major distortion due to the reaction. The widths of the halo-neutron momentum distributions have been extracted in coincidence with He fragments, Gamma = 32 +/- 4 MeV/c, and Li fragments, Gamma = 42 +/- 4 MeV/c for Be-11 and with He fragments, Gamma =42+/-6 MeV/c for Li-11. The Be-11 breakup gives a very low neutron multiplicity of 0.38+/-0.09 which is a manifestation of the shadowing of the neutron in the core-breakup reaction. This value can be understood from a simple theoretical calculation, which also accounts for the observed transverse momentum widths at small angles. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V.