Recent results on reactions with weakly-bound nuclei

Recent results on the reaction dynamics induced by light radioactive ion beams at Coulomb barrier energies are reviewed. As a general feature, the exotic structure and the weak binding energy of most of these projectiles enhance the reaction probability rather than the fusion cross section, as originally expected. The quest has now moved toward understanding which direct reaction mechanism originates the enhancement. Experimental data showed that n-halo and p-halo nuclei are characterized by a different behavior. Transfer processes enhance the reaction probability for n-halo nuclei, such as 6,8He, while for p-halo nuclei, such as 8B, the breakup channel seems to be mainly responsible for the enhancement.