Reaction Cross Sections and $α$-Cluster Geometry in $^{12}$C and Be Isotopes

Abstract

Reaction cross sections $σ_{\rm R}$ are widely used to infer matter radii, yet their sensitivity to nuclear structure beyond radial one-body distributions is less well understood. We combine complete $A$-body nucleon configurations sampled from \textit{ab initio} nuclear lattice effective field theory (NLEFT) with event-by-event Monte Carlo Glauber calculations, thereby retaining the many-body correlations encoded in NLEFT. Using a fixed binary-collision prescription determined by the measured energy- and isospin-dependent total nucleon-nucleon cross sections, the calculations capture the overall magnitudes and energy dependence simultaneously for the available data on $^{12}$C and $^{9}$Be projectiles on carbon and hydrogen. Controlled randomization of angular correlations at fixed matter root-mean-square radius and spherically averaged one-body radial density produces only a weak change in $σ_{\rm R}$ for $^{12}$C but approximately a $10\%$ increase for $^{9}\mathrm{Be}+{}^{1}\mathrm{H}$. The calculations also capture the measured rise--plateau--sharp-rise--reduction trend across $^{7,9\text{--}12}$Be, a distinctive pattern reflecting the evolution of cluster and halo structures along the isotopic chain. These results show that $σ_{\rm R}$ retains sensitivity to intrinsic many-body geometry beyond a single inferred matter radius, opening a route to studies of exotic $α$-cluster geometries and spatial nucleon correlations through reaction cross sections.