Sensitivity of three-body decays to the reactions mechanism and the initial structure by example of 6Be

The influence of the initial-state structure and the reaction mechanism on three-body decays is investigated using the example of the Be-6 continuum populated in neutron-knockout reactions on Be-7. The sensitivity of the Be-6 excitation spectrum and the three-body correlations to the different components of the model is demonstrated. It is shown that the spin composition of the initial state may have an overwhelming effect on the three-body continuum. The characteristics and structure of the second 0(2)(+) and 2(2)(+) states in Be-6 are predicted and the conditions for their reliable observations are formulated. The effects of interference and the alignment of three-body states on the three-body correlations are demonstrated. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevC.86.061602