Tidal effects and the proximity decay of nuclei

Phys Rev Lett. 2007 Sep 28;99(13):132701. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.132701. Epub 2007 Sep 27.

Abstract

We examine the decay of the 3.03 MeV state of (8)Be evaporated from an excited projectilelike fragment following a peripheral heavy-ion collision. The relative energy of the daughter alpha particles exhibits a dependence on the decay angle of the (8)Be(*), indicative of a tidal effect. A comparison of the measured tidal effect with a model suggests a measurable nuclear proximity interaction.