Studying the impact of deuteron non-elastic breakup on ⁹³Zr + d reaction cross sections measured at 28 MeV/nucleon

The deuteron is a loosely bound system that can easily break up into its constituent proton and neutron whilst in the presence of Coulomb and nuclear fields. Previous experimental studies have shown that this breakup process has a significant impact on residual-nucleus production from deuteron bombardment in the high-energy range of 50-210 MeV/nucleon. However, there remains a lack of cross-section data at energies below 50 MeV/nucleon. The current study determined Zr-93 + d reaction cross sections under inverse kinematics at approximately 28 MeV/nucleon using the BigRIPS separator, OEDO beamline, and SHARAQ spectrometer. Cross sections from this research were compared with previous measurements and theoretical calculations. The experimental results show a large enhancement of the production cross sections of residual nuclei, especially those produced from a small number of particle emissions, compared to the proton-induced reaction data at similar bombarding energy. The DEURACS calculation, which quantitatively takes deuteron-breakup effects into account, reproduces the data well. As a long-lived fission product, Zr-93 remains a challenge for nuclear-waste disposal and treatment. This study's low-energy data may assist future consideration of nuclear-waste treatment facilities, where Zr-93 + d may feasibly transmute the waste into short-lived/stable nuclei.