Effective polarization in proton-induced $\alpha$ knockout reactions

Abstract

The effective polarization of the residual nucleus in the proton-induced $\alpha$ knockout reaction is investigated within the distorted wave impulse approximation framework. The strong absorption of the emitted $\alpha$ particle results in strong selectivity on the reaction "position" depending on the third component of the single-particle orbital angular momentum of the $\alpha$ particle inside a nucleus, hence on the spin direction of the reaction residue. This is caused by a mechanism that is similar to the Maris effect, the effective polarization in the proton-induced proton knockout reactions. However, as a distinct feature of the effective polarization in the $\alpha$ knockout process, the spin degrees of freedom of the reacting particles play no role. The $\alpha$ knockout process with complete kinematics can be a useful polarization technique for the residual nucleus, without actively controlling the spin of the proton.