P. J. Li, D. Beaumel, J. Lee, M. Assié, et al.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 212501 – Published 21 November 2023
The cluster structure of the neutron-rich isotope 10Be has been probed via the (p,pα) reaction at 150 MeV/nucleon in inverse kinematics and in quasifree conditions. The populated states of 6He residues were investigated through missing mass spectroscopy. The triple differential cross section for the ground-state transition was extracted for quasifree angle pairs (θp,θα) and compared to distorted-wave impulse approximation reaction calculations performed in a microscopic framework using successively the Tohsaki-Horiuchi-Schuck-Röpke product wave function and the wave function deduced from antisymmetrized molecular dynamics calculations. The remarkable agreement between calculated and measured cross sections in both shape and magnitude validates the molecular structure description of the 10Be ground-state, configured as an α−α core with two valence neutrons occupying π-type molecular orbitals.