Virtual coupling potential for elastic scattering of 10,11Be on proton and carbon targets

The Be-10,Be-11(p,p) and (C-12, C-12) reactions were analyzed to determine the influence of the weak binding energies of exotic nuclei on their interaction potential. The elastic cross sections were measured at GANIL in inverse kinematics using radioactive Be-10,Be-11 beams produced at energies of 39.1A and 38.4A MeV. The elastic proton scattering data were analyzed within the framework of the microscopic Jeukenne-Lejeune-Mahaux (JLM) nucleon-nucleus potential. The angular distributions are found to be best reproduced by reducing the real part of the microscopic optical potential, as a consequence of the coupling to the continuum. These effects modify deeply the elastic potential. Including the Virtual Coupling Potential (VCP), we show the ability of the general optical potentials to reproduce the data for scattering of unstable nuclei, using realistic densities. Finally, the concepts needed to develop a more general and microscopic approach of the VCP are discussed. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.