Rainbows are generally considered to be caused by static refraction and reflection. A primary and a secondary rainbow appear due to refraction and internal reflection in a raindrop as explained by Newton. The quantum nuclear rainbow, which is generated by refraction in the nucleus droplet, only has a "primary" rainbow. Here we show for the first time evidence for the existence of a secondary nuclear rainbow generated dynamically by coupling to an excited state without internal reflection. This has been demonstrated for experimental $^{ 16}$O+$^{ 12}$C scattering using the coupled channel method with an extended double folding potential derived from microscopic realistic wave functions for $^{ 12}$C and $^{ 16}$O.
Categories: nucl-th nucl-ex physics.hist-ph physics.optics