Description of nucleon transfer reactions at intermediate energies within the impulse picture

Abstract: Background: At intermediate energies, transfer reactions hardly occur because the momentum-matching condition is difficult to satisfy. In the standard distorted-wave Born approximation, a particle to be transferred must have a momentum being similar to the momentum transfer. Purpose: We propose a new reaction framework based on the distorted-wave impulse approximation for transfer reactions at intermediate energies, aiming to ease the momentum-matching condition. Methods: The $(p,d)$ reaction is described as a $p$-$d$ elastic scattering for backward-angle scattering in the target nucleus and the proton that formed a $pn$ pair is left and bound in the residual nucleus in the final channel. The momentum transfer is shared by the deuteron in the target nucleus and the proton in the residual nucleus. Results: The new framework is applied to the $^{16}$O($p,d$)$^{15}$O reaction at 200~MeV and compared with experimental data. The angular distribution is satisfactorily well described, whereas an anomalously large scaling factor is needed to reproduce the absolute value. The transition matrix is analyzed in detail and the mechanism of the momentum sharing is clarified. Conclusions: The new reaction framework for transfer reactions at intermediate energies seems to be promising for describing the reaction mechanism but fails to explain the absolute value of the cross section. The use of the $p$-$d$ transition amplitude instead of its cross section will be necessary to draw a conclusion on the applicability of the present framework.