Unveiling dominant breakup pathways and new resonances in 11B: Implications for Beta-delayed proton emission, thermal neutron detection and cancer therapy

A high-precision measurement on the breakup of 11B has revealed new insights into the nuclear structure of 11B. We report, for the first time, angular distributions of resonance states in the α + 7Li and p + 10Be breakup channels, including the key 11.45 MeV state implicated in β−-delayed proton emission from 11Be. Our measurements reveal that this state emits nearly five times more protons than alpha particles. New evidence also points to previously unobserved cluster states at 17.31 MeV (decaying into d + 9Be) and 14.04 MeV (decaying into 3H + 8Be). Crucially, assuming the same 11.45 MeV state is populated in the nthermal + 10B → 11B∗ (Q = 11.45 MeV) reaction, relevant for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) and thermal neutron detection, our findings suggest that the p + 10Be breakup is the dominant charged-particle emission pathway, being five times more probable than the α + 7Li channel. This discovery challenges the conventional understanding of neutron detection and BNCT, with direct implications for accurate radiation dose assessment in cancer treatment.