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

In this paper 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.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physics Letters B. Added a comparison with a potential model calculation in Fig.