Production of A=6,7 Nuclides in the Alpha + Alpha Reaction and Cosmic Ray Nucleosynthesis

Cross sections for production of 6He, 6Li, 7Li, and 7Be in the alpha+alpha reaction were measured at bombarding energies of 159.3, 279.6, and 619.8 MeV, and are found to decrease rapidly with increasing energy. These cross sections are essential for the calculation of the rate of nucleosynthesis of the lithium isotopes in the cosmic rays and thereby play a key role in our understanding of the synthesis of Li, Be, and B. The results for 6Li differ significantly from the tabulated values commonly used in cosmic-ray production calculations and lead to lower production of 6Li.