Transfer and breakup of light weakly‐bound nuclei

We investigate the origin of the effects observed in the fusion cross section of light weakly bound nuclei, through a review of the most recent experimental and theoretical works. In particular we focus on the well‐documented fusion suppression at energies just above the potential barrier. We show that, besides the couplings to the breakup process, effects due to the couplings to transfer need be taken into account. The magnitude of the cross section for the direct process, breakup or transfer, is not a reliable indicator of the size of the effects induced on the elastic scattering and fusion.