Neutron correlations and clustering in neutron-rich nuclear systems

Abstract: In this paper, we will briefly review the recent progress on neutron correlations and clustering in neutron-rich nuclei from quasi-free scattering experiments. The quasi-free ($p$, $pn$) reaction was measured for Borromean nuclei $^{11}$Li, $^{14}$Be, and $^{17}$B. A surprisingly small $s$-wave component was found for $^{17}$B, revealing a weak neutron halo in $^{17}$B, and the comparative study of the three nuclei shows the surface localization of dineutron correlation and its universality in Borromean nuclei. The two-neutron emission of $^{16}$Be was also studied, finding strong dineutron correlation in $^{16}$Be(g.s.) but weak correlation in $^{16}$Be($2^+$). Two missing-mass measurements using $^{4}$He($^{8}$He, $^{8}$Be) and $^{8}$He($p$, $p\alpha$) reactions provided evidence for the $^{4}n$ resonance, but the $^{3}n$ resonance was not supported by the recent experiment employing the $t(t,^3$He)$^3n$ charge-exchange reaction. The quasi-free $(p,p \alpha)$ reaction has been extended to unstable nuclei, and the recent experiment unravels the $\alpha$-$2n$-$\alpha$ molecule-like cluster structure of $^{10}$Be(g.s.).