Abstract
Direct reactions at intermediate energies are an important tool for studying the structure of weakly-bound exotic nuclei. The scattering of such nuclei has been successfully described using few-body models with the projectile assumed to consist of a valence nucleon bound to an inert core which acts as a spectator during the reaction. However, there is evidence in the literature to suggest a collective excitation of the core is needed to explain the measured experimental partial breakup cross sections. In this thesis, the projectile is modelled as a set of coupled-channels eigenstates of a valence nucleon weakly-coupled to a quadrupole deformed rotational core. Using this model a new expression is derived for the diffractive breakup of the projectile to exclusive final core states within an eikonal framework. The interaction between the core and the target is described by a deformed core-target S matrix that can couple together different rotational core states and thus provide the potential for dynamic excitation of the core. Calculations for single-neutron knockout from 11Be on 9Be at 60 MeV per nucleon are presented. Including the possibility of core excitation increases both the 0+ and 2+ partial cross sections. This results in an inclusive single-nucleon knockout cross section that agrees with the experimental value. The increase in cross section is in reasonable agreement with eikonal predictions in the literature. Calculations of partial cross sections for single-nucleon knockout from 17C on 9Be at 62 MeV per nucleon including core excitation shown that the majority of the 0+ partial cross section for elastic breakup comes from breakup due to the presence of a dynamic core. Comparisons with inclusive eikonal calculations suggest a 4+ core state may play an important role in the reaction.