Probing the halo and cluster structure of exotic nuclei

The Halo and cluster structure at the ground state of unstable nuclei are among the most exciting phenomena of current nuclear physics. Probing these structures requires a careful selection of reaction tools. In the past twenty years, knockout reactions have been used intensively to investigate spectroscopically the structure of unstable nuclei. In this report we have illustrated the latest development of the knockout reaction tool and have emphasized the recoiled proton tagging method. A quantitative criteria is developed to evaluate the quasi-free feature of the knockout process. The newly discovered "towing mode" reaction tool is also outlined and its applicability at transit energies is discussed.