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To analyze the cause of the destruction of thin, carbon-backed lithium fluoride targets during a measurement of the fusion of 7Li and 17O, we estimate theoretically the lifetimes of carbon and LiF films due to sputtering, thermal evaporation, and lattice damage and compare them with the lifetime observed in the experiment. Sputtering yields and thermal evaporation rates in carbon and LiF films are too low to play significant roles in the destruction of the targets. We estimate the lifetime of the target due to lattice damage of the carbon backing and the LiF film using a previously reported model. In the experiment, elastically scattered target and beam ions were detected by surface silicon barrier (SSB) detectors so that the product of the beam flux and the target density could be monitored during the experiment. The areas of the targets exposed to different beam intensities and fluences were degraded and then perforated, forming holes with a diameter around the beam spot size. Overall, the target thickness tends to decrease linearly as a function of the beam fluence. However, the thickness also exhibits an increasing interval after SSB counts per beam ion decreases linearly, extending the target lifetime. The lifetime of thin LiF film as determined by lattice damage is calculated for the first time using a lattice damage model, and the calculated lifetime agrees well with the observed target lifetime during the experiment. In experiments using a thin LiF target to induce nuclear reactions, this study suggests methods to predict the lifetime of the LiF film and arrange the experimental plan for maximum efficiency.

A kinematically complete measurement was made of the Coulomb dissociation of 8B nuclei on a Pb target at 83 MeV/nucleon. The cross-section was measured at low relative energies in order to infer the astrophysical S-factor for the 7Be(p,γ)8B reaction. A first-order perturbation theory analysis of the reaction dynamics including E1, E2, and M1 transitions was employed to extract the E1 strength relevant to neutrino-producing reactions in the solar interior. By fitting the measured cross-section from Erel= 130 keV to 400 keV, we find S17(0) = 17.8+1.4-1.2eV b. Semiclassical 1st-order perturbation theory and fully quantum-mechanical continuum-discretized coupled-channels analyses yield nearly identical results for the E1 strength relevant to solar-neutrino flux calculations, suggesting that theoretical reaction mechanism uncertainties need not limit the precision of Coulomb-breakup determinations of the 7Be(p,γ)8B S-factor. A recommended value of S17(0) based on a weighted average of this and other measurements is presented. This recommendation implies a revised value for the theoretical flux of 8B solar neutrinos, which is also given.-1