Application of Absorbing Boundary Condition to Nuclear Breakup Reactions

Absorbing boundary condition approach to nuclear breakup reactions is investigated. A key ingredient of the method is an absorbing potential outside the physical area, which simulates the outgoing boundary condition for scattered waves. After discretizing the radial variables, the problem results in a linear algebraic equation with a sparse coefficient matrix, to which efficient iterative methods can be applicable. No virtual state such as discretized continuum channel needs to be introduced in the method. Basic aspects of the method are discussed by considering a nuclear two-body scattering problem described with an optical potential. We then apply the method to the breakup reactions of deuterons described in a three-body direct reaction model. Results employing the absorbing boundary condition are found to accurately coincide with those of the existing method which utilizes discretized continuum channels.