In an effort to better determine the ^ { 7 } Be ( p , \gamma ) ^ { 8 } B reaction rate , we have performed inclusive and exclusive measurements of the Coulomb dissociation of ^ { 8 } B .
The former was a study of longitudinal momentum distributions of ^ { 7 } Be fragments emitted in the Coulomb breakup of intermediate energy ^ { 8 } B beams on Pb and Ag targets .
Analysis of these data yielded the E 2 contribution to the breakup cross section .
In the exclusive measurement , we determined the cross section for the Coulomb breakup of ^ { 8 } B on Pb at low relative energies in order to infer the astrophysical S factor for the ^ { 7 } Be ( p , \gamma ) ^ { 8 } B reaction .
Interpreting the measurements with 1st-order perturbation theory , we obtained S _ { E 2 } / S _ { E 1 } = 4.7 ^ { +2.0 } _ { -1.3 } \times 10 ^ { -4 } at E _ { rel } = 0.6 MeV , and S _ { 17 } ( 0 ) = 17.8 ^ { +1.4 } _ { -1.2 } eV b. Semiclassical 1st-order perturbation theory and fully quantum mechanical continuum-discretized coupled channels analyses yield nearly identical results for the E1 strength relevant to solar neutrino flux calculations , suggesting that theoretical reaction mechanism uncertainties need not limit the precision of Coulomb breakup determinations of the ^ { 7 } Be ( p , \gamma ) ^ { 8 } B S factor .
A recommended value of S _ { 17 } ( 0 ) based on a weighted average of this and other measurements is presented .