Study of the ^7Be(d,^3He)^6Li* reaction at 5 MeV/u

The measurement of the ^7Be(d,^3He)^6Li* transfer cross section at 5 MeV/u is carried out. The population of the 2.186 MeV excited state of ^6Li in this reaction channel is observed for the first time. The experimental angular distributions have been analyzed in the finite range DWBA and coupled-channel frameworks. The effect of the ^7Be(d,^3He)^6Li reaction on both the ^6Li and ^7Li abundances are investigated at the relevant big-bang nucleosynthesis energies. The excitation function is calculated by TALYS and normalized to the experimental data. The S factor of the (d,^3He) channel from the present work is about 50% lower than existing data at nearby energies. At big-bang energies, the S factor is about three orders of magnitude smaller than that of the (d,p) channel. The (d,^3He) reaction rate is found to have a less than 0.1% effect on the ^6,7Li abundances.