SEMICLASSICAL CALCULATION OF COULOMB BREAK-UP OF WEAKLY-BOUND NUCLEI

We develop a semiclassical coupled-channels calculation for the Coulomb break-up of loosely bound nuclei. The continuum wavefunctions are discretized by means of two different sets of strongly peaked functions: (a) a histogram set, and (b) a continuously derivable one. Using simple expressions for the bound and continuum wavefunctions, we calculate the break-up probability to first-order and with the coupled-channels method. First-order perturbation theory is shown to fail to describe the Coulomb break-up of unstable projectiles, as Li-11 at small impact parameters. It is shown that a non-perturbative calculation may reduce the cross section by 20% in collisions at intermediate energies.