Beautiful clusters - Boron-9: Simulations and decay

Monte-Carlo simulations for analysis of the⁹Be(³He, t)⁹B ^∗ reaction at 33 MeV using coincidences between the high-resolution Munich Q3D spectrograph and the large-acceptance Birmingham silicon detector array are presented. These focus on the identification of the proton break-up product and the application to evidencing the first excited¹/2⁺ state. Identifying this state has posed a challenge for over 70 years, but would enable the mirror symmetry in this light system to be explored, giving insight into its possible clustered structure. Penetrabilities for the low excitation energy regime are calculated showing the efficacy of the proton-identification method.