Reaction and break-up cross sections of 11Li at 0.8 and 0.28 GeV/u

Abstract

In this paper we calculate reaction and breakup cross sections for the two- neutron halo nucleus of $^{11}$Li using the optical limit of Glauber theory. Calculations are presented and compared to experimental data at 0.8 and 0.28 GeV/u on a series of targets. The $^{11}$Li nucleus is described as a three-body system, a core plus two neutrons, with a phenomenological neutron-core potential and a density dependent neutron-neutron interaction of zero range. Three different wave functions are constructed which have different $(2s_{1/2})^2$ and $(1p_{1/2})^2$ two-neutron components but correspond to the same binding energy close to the experimental value. We show that the agreement with all the experimental observables is achieved only if the 11Li wave function contains about 30% of $(2s_{1/2})^2$ configuration.