Understanding the B11(p,α)αα reaction at the 0.675 MeV resonance

The B11(p,α)αα reaction at energies between 200 keV and a few MeV has a very long history, dating back to studies by Lord Rutherford and Dee and Gilbert in the 1930s. It is shown that the modern view of this reaction, established in 1987, is incorrect. This model viewed the reaction as a two-step process with a primary high energy α-particle having ℓ=1 going to the first excited state of Be8, with the subsequent emission of two low energy secondary α-particles. We have found that an earlier result (1969) which showed that the primary α-particle must have ℓ=3 does, as originally noted, account for the data. Our simulations show that this view leads to the prediction of two high energy α-particles (of almost equal energy), as originally proposed in 1936, one being the primary α-particle and the other a secondary α-particle. Coincidence data verify the existence of these two high energy α-particles. The implications of this result on astrophysics and fusion energy production are noted.