Behaviour of the 12C(4He, 4He)12C elastic scattering cross section at Eα = 0.4–1.8 MeV

Abstract The energy dependence of the 12 C( 4 He, 4 He) 12 C elastic scattering cross section has been studied between 0.4 and 1.8 MeV incident energy at a laboratory angle of 150°. It is found that, within a precision of 2%, the measured energy dependence is of the screened Rutherford form. Assuming the 12 C( 4 He, 4 He) 12 C elastic scattering cross section is screened Rutherford at low energies, E α ≈ 0.5 MeV, we conclude that it is screened Rutherford up to at least 1.8 MeV. This conclusion is inconsistent with an absolute cross section value derived from a comparison with the 12 C(d, p) 13 C nuclear reaction yield.