Spin observables in the three-body break-up process near the quasi-free limit in deuteron–deuteron scattering

Abstract We have studied spin observables in the three-body break-up reaction in deuteron–deuteron scattering in the phase-space regime that corresponds to the quasi-free deuteron–proton scattering process with the neutron as spectator. The data are compared to measurements of the elastic deuteron–proton scattering process and state-of-the-art Faddeev calculations. The results for i T 11 and T 22 for the quasi-free scattering data agree very well with previously published elastic-scattering data. A significant discrepancy is found for T 20 , which could point to a break-down of the quasi-free assumption.