Deep sub-barrier breakup dynamics in the $$^8{\mathrm{B}}+{}^{208}{\mathrm{Pb}}$$ 8 B + 208 Pb reaction

Breakup reactions at deep sub-barrier incident energies are the less investigated in the breakup of loosely-bound systems. Motivated by a recent study by Pakou et al (Phys. Rev. C 102:031601(R), 2020), we further analyse the breakup of $$^8{\mathrm{B}}$$ nucleus on a lead target at deep sub-barrier incident energies. It is found that at these energies, continuum–continuum couplings enhance the breakup cross-section. These couplings are otherwise known to hinder the breakup cross-section at energies around and above the Coulomb barrier. We argue that this enhancement can in part explain the known predominance of the breakup channel over other reaction channels at deep sub-barrier energies, and that it may signal a breakup on the outgoing trajectory. The results in this paper also confirm the prediction in the reference above. Due to the astrophysical aspect of $$^8{\mathrm{B}}$$ nucleus, this result could have significant implication in nuclear astrophysics.