Cluster Knockout Reactions

Cluster knockout reactions are expected to reveal the amount of clustering (alphas, deuterons and even heavier clusters such as 12C etc.) in the target nucleus. In simple terms incident medium-high energy nuclear projectile interacts strongly with the cluster in the target as if it were a free entity. This being similar to the free projectile-cluster scattering is also termed as quasi-free scattering. The relatively mild interactions with the residual nucleus lead to optical distortions which are treated in terms of distorted wave formalism. Comparison of the resulting direct reaction calculations with the observed data provide information about the momentum distribution and clustering spectroscopic factor of the target nucleus. Interesting results and some recent advancements in the area of Heavy Cluster Knockout Reactions will be discussed.