17F breakup reactions: a touchstone for indirect measurements

An exclusive study of 17F breakup reactions has been performed at the FRIBs facility of the Laboratori Nazionali del Sud in Catania (Italy). The experiment has been performed with the aim of testing the accuracy of the Coulomb‐breakup indirect technique used to infer radiative‐capture cross sections at low energies. This technique has been used in the 7Be(p,γ)8B case, but has never been tested. By measuring the breakup of 17F into 16O+p, and comparing the inferred cross section for 16O(p,γ)17F to direct precise measurements, the influence of E2 transitions and higher‐order effects, that are predicted to be significant in Coulomb‐breakup reactions, can be evaluated. The first results and preliminary model comparison are reported.