Breakup Dynamics of Proton- and Neutron-halo Nuclei on $$^{28}$$Si, $$^{120}$$Sn and $$^{236}$$U Targets

Abstract In this study, the Continuum Discretized Coupled Channels (CDCC) method is employed to investigate the breakup dynamics of neutron- and proton-halo nuclei in reactions involving $$^{8}$$ Be $$\rightarrow ^{7}$$ Be+n and $$^{8}$$ B $$\rightarrow ^{7}$$ Be+p on light ( $$^{28}$$ Si) and heavy ( $$^{120}$$ Sn and $$^{236}$$ U) targets. To ensure a consistent comparison, all systems are modeled with the same ground-state separation energy of $$S_{p,n}$$ =0.137 MeV. The total, nuclear, and Coulomb breakup cross sections are analyzed with the inclusion of continuum-continuum couplings (CCC). The results show that neutron-halo breakup cross sections, particularly the total and nuclear components, are generally larger than those of the proton-halo system, especially at forward angles. The inclusion of continuum-continuum couplings leads to a noticeable suppression of the total and nuclear breakup cross sections, most prominently in the proton-halo case, while the Coulomb breakup cross section remains relatively unaffected. In addition, differential elastic scattering cross sections are calculated and compared with available experimental data for the $$^{7}$$ Be+ $$^{28}$$ Si and $$^{8}$$ B+ $$^{120}$$ Sn systems, showing good agreement and confirming the reliability of the adopted model.