Probing high-momentum components in $^{16}$O via zero-degree $(p,d)$ cross-section ratios

Abstract

The $^{16}$O$(p,d)^{15}$O reaction was measured at zero degrees for incident-proton energies of 403, 604, 907 and 1209 MeV. Cross-section ratios for the 6.18-MeV (3/2$^-$) and 5.24-MeV (5/2$^+$) excited-state transitions, normalized to the ground-state transition, were previously reported in Wang et al., Phys. Lett. B 879, 140563 (2026), doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2026.140563, together with their implications for high-momentum neutron components in $^{16}$O. The present work extends that study by providing additional experimental and data-analysis details, and by reporting for the first time the ratio $R_{7.3}$, defined as the cross section populating the 7.28-MeV (7/2$^+$) state relative to that for the ground state. The positive-parity state ratios exhibit a pronounced momentum dependence, consistent with representative variational Monte Carlo trends.