Determination of electron screening potential of 6Li(p, α)3He reaction using Multi Layer Perceptron based neural network

Abstract

Understanding nuclear reactions between light-charged nuclei in the sub-Coulomb energy region is crucial for several astrophysical processes. Accurate determination of the reaction cross-section within the astrophysically important Gamow range is challenging due to electron screening. Various methods, including polynomial fits, R-Matrix, and the indirect Trojan Horse Method (THM), have estimated electron screening energies that exceed the adiabatic limit. This study aims to derive the bare astrophysical S-factor for the reaction ${}^6\text{Li}{(\text{p},\alpha )}^3\text{He}$ and to extract electron screening energies using Multi-Layer Perceptron-based Artificial Neural Network (ANN) analysis. Experimental S-factors for ${}^6\text{Li}{(\text{p},\alpha )}^3\text{He}$, obtained from the literature, are reanalyzed with the ANN algorithm to determine the energy-dependent S-factor. The bare astrophysical S-factor is calculated from data above 60 keV, where electron screening is negligible. The electron screening potential is then derived by comparing the shielded S-factor with the bare S-factor. The ANN-based analysis yields an electron screening potential of 220 eV, suggesting that ANN could be a viable tool for estimating electron screening potentials in light nuclei reactions.