Elastic Scattering of 8 Li from 51 V: Optical and Cluster-Folding Analysis

Elastic scattering of the weakly bound nucleus 8 Li from the medium-mass target [Formula: see text]V has been investigated at incident energies of 18.5 and 26 MeV. The projectile is described within a two-body cluster model consisting of a 7 Li core and a valence neutron. Experimental angular distributions are analyzed using phenomenological optical-model potentials, microscopic double-folding potentials based on the São Paulo potential (SPP2) and the density-dependent CDM3Y6 interaction, as well as a cluster-folding approach that explicitly incorporates the 7 Li+[Formula: see text] structure of the projectile. The calculated results show that all models provide a reasonable description of the measured data at forward angles, while larger differences appear at intermediate and backward angles. The cluster-folding calculations predict enhanced reaction cross sections, reflecting the influence of the weak binding and extended spatial distribution of the valence neutron. The present analysis emphasizes the role of cluster degrees of freedom in reactions involving neutron-rich weakly bound nuclei and provides additional insight into the scattering dynamics of the 8 Li+[Formula: see text]V system.