Analytical approach to electromagnetic processes in loosely bound nuclei: application to 8B

In this Letter we develop an analytical model in order to study electromagnetic processes involving loosely bound neutron-rich and proton-rich nuclei. We construct a model wave function, to describe loosely bound few-body systems, having the correct behaviour both at large and small distances. The continuum states are approximated by regular Coulomb functions. As a test case we consider the two-body Coulomb dissociation of 8B and, the inverse, radiative capture reaction. The difference between using a pure two-body model and the results obtained when incorporating many-body effects, is investigated. We conclude that the interpretation of experimental data is highly model dependent and stress the importance of measuring few-body channels.