Possibilities of Heavy Ion Bombardment in Nuclear Studies

Abstract

Bombardment of nuclei by multiply charged ions of medium atomic weight such as ${\mathrm{C}}^{12}$ or ${\mathrm{O}}^{16}$ is considered as a possible means of studying nuclear structure. Estimates are made regarding the approximate magnitude of: (a) distortion effects in target nuclei produced by the incident particles, (b) consequences of the distortion such as effects on thresholds of reactions having their origin in Coulomb barriers, (c) stimulation to fission, (d) effects characteristic of the leakage of neutrons and protons out of the two colliding nuclei by wave-mechanical penetration of the regions of negative kinetic energy; an exploration of these effects should amount to a study of the halo of neutrons and protons surrounding the more compact nuclear interior and might be helpful in determining the number of nuclear particles at the nuclear surface having a given energy. The treatment is qualitative and the mathematical discussion involves many approximations. General design characteristics of a 60-inch cyclotron that should be capable of imparting the necessary energy to multiply charged ions are considered.