Systematic uncertainties in direct reaction theories

Nuclear reactions are common probes to study nuclei and in particular, nuclei at the limits of stability. The data from reaction measurements depend strongly on theory for a reliable interpretation. Even when using state-of-the-art reaction theories, there are a number of sources of systematic uncertainties. These uncertainties are often unquantified or estimated in a very crude manner. It is clear that for theory to be useful, a quantitative understanding of the uncertainties is critical. Here, we discuss major sources of uncertainties in a variety of reaction theories used to analyze (d,p) nuclear reactions in the energy range E d = 10–20 MeV, and we provide a critical view on how these have been handled in the past and how estimates can be improved.