Probing Cluster Transfer in Peripheral Collisions of 40 Ar on 64 Ni at 15 MeV/nucleon

This work focuses on the study of the yields and momentum distributions of projectile-like fragments from 40 Ar collisions with target 64 Ni at 15 MeV/nucleon, using experimental data obtained in previous work with the MARS spectrometer at the Cyclotron Institute at Texas A&M University. Motivated by the current activity on clustering, we focused our attention on the channel corresponding to the production of the 36 S ejectile, which may have resulted from the removal of an alpha particle cluster from the 40 Ar projectile. The experimental distributions were compared with two dynamical models, the deep-inelastic transfer (DIT) model and the constrained molecular dynamics (CoMD) model, followed by the de-excitation code GEMINI. The observed discrepancies potentially indicate direct cluster transfer in quasi-elastic peripheral collisions. By comparing our experimental data with appropriate models, we hope to gain valuable insight into the mechanisms governing clustering and cluster transfer in peripheral collisions in the Fermi energy regime.