“Piston” mechanism in a time-dependent two-level model

Abstract

We analyze a recent study of the one-proton knockout reaction on N19 in the framework of a time-dependent two-level model. Focusing on the specific case of C18, we quantify the validity of the so-called "piston"mechanism in terms of the timescales involved in the process, namely, the reaction time, the period of oscillation between the mixed states, and the lifetime of the excited unbound state.