The concept of compound nucleus was proposed by Niels Bohr in 1936 to explain narrow resonances observed in scattering of a slow neutron off atomic nuclei. A compound nucleus is a metastable state with a long lifetime, in which all the degrees of freedom are in a sort of thermal equilibrium. Fusion reactions are defined as reactions to form such compound nucleus by merging two atomic nuclei. Here a short description of heavy-ion fusion reactions at energies close the Coulomb barrier is presented. This includes: (i) an overview of a fusion process, (ii) a strong interplay between nuclear structure and fusion, (iii) fusion and multi-dimensional/multi-particle quantum tunneling, and (iv) fusion for superheavy elements.
We critically examine the differences among the different bare nuclear interactions used in near-barrier heavy ion fusion analysis and Coupled-Channels calculations, and discuss the possibility of extracting the barrier parameters of the bare potential from above-barrier data. We show that the choice of the bare potential may be critical for the analysis of the fusion cross sections. We show also that the barrier parameters taken from above barrier data may be very wrong.
Above-barrier fusion cross-sections for an isotopic chain of oxygen isotopes with A=16-19 incident on a $^{12}$C target are presented. Experimental data are compared with both static and dynamical microscopic calculations. These calculations are unable to explain the $\sim$37\% increase in the average above-barrier fusion cross-section observed for $^{19}$O as compared to $β$-stable oxygen isotopes. This result suggests that for neutron-rich nuclei existing time-dependent Hartree-Fock calculations underpredict the role of dynamics at near-barrier energies. High-quality measurement of above-bar…
The tunneling of composite systems, where breakup may occur during the barrier penetration process is considered in connection with the fusion of halo-like radioactive, neutron- and proton-rich nuclei on heavy targets. The large amount of recent and new data clearly indicates that breakup hinders the fusion at near and below the Coulomb barrier energies. However, clear evidence for the halo enhancements, seems to over ride the breakup hindrance at lower energies, owing, to a large extent, to the extended matter density distribution. In particular we report here that at sub-barrier energies the…
A potential model to describe the total cross section of nuclear fusion reactions at low energies is proposed. It is shown that within an approach with a simple, single barrier potential a satisfactory description of data is hindered, while with models with more complex interactions, e.g., with two-barrier potentials, a good description of data can be achieved in a large interval of colliding nuclei and center of mass energies. In particular, the two-barrier model allows to describe data at low, sub-barrier energies where data exhibits a steep falloff of the cross section. It is also shown tha…
Measurement of the energy dependence of the fusion cross-sec on at sub-barrier energies provides an important test for theoretical models of fusion. To extend the measurement of fusion cross-sections in the sub-barrier domain for the 18O+12C system. Use the new experimental data to confront microscopic calculations of fusion. Evaporation residues produced in fusion of 18O ions with 12C target nuclei were detected with good geometric efficiency and identified by measuring their energy and time-of-flight. Theoretical calculations with a density constrained time dependent Hartree-Fock (DC-TDHF) t…
Fusion excitation function of $^{35}$Cl + $^{130}$Te system is measured in the energy range around the Coulomb barrier and analyzed in the framework of the coupled-channels approach. The role of projectile deformation, nuclear structure, and the couplings of inelastic excitations and positive Q$-$value neutron transfer channels in sub-barrier fusion are investigated through the comparison of reduced fusion excitation functions of $^{35,37}$Cl +$^{130}$Te systems. The reduced fusion excitation function of $^{35}$Cl + $^{130}$Te system shows substantial enhancement over $^{37}$Cl + $^{130}$Te sy…
The fusion hindrance in heavy ion collisions is studied in the framework of the two-center liquid drop model. It appears that the neck and the radial degrees of freedom might both be hampered by an inner potential barrier on their path between the contact configuration to the compound nucleus. Heavy ion reactions with and without the two kinds of fusion hindrance are classified through systematic calculations. It is found that the number of reactions without radial fusion hindrance is much smaller than that without neck fusion hindrance, and for both kinds of fusion hindrance the number of rea…
A steeper fall of fusion excitation function, compared to the predictions of coupled-channels models, at energies below the lowest barrier between the reaction partners, is termed as deep sub-barrier fusion hindrance. This phenomenon has been observed in many symmetric and nearly-symmetric systems. Different physical origins of the hindrance have been proposed. This work aims to study the probable effects of direct reactions on deep sub-barrier fusion cross sections. Fusion (evaporation residue) cross sections have been measured for the system $^{19}$F+$^{181}$Ta, from above the barrier down t…
The fusion barrier distribution has provided a nice representation for the channel coupling effects on heavy-ion fusion reactions at energies around the Coulomb barrier. Here we discuss how one can extract the same representation using the so called sum-of-differences (SOD) method with quasi-elastic scattering cross sections. In contrast to the conventional quasi-elastic barrier distribution, the SOD barrier distribution has an advantage in that it can be applied both to non-symmetric and symmetric systems. It is also the case that the correspondence to the fusion barrier distribution is much …
The influence on fusion of coupling to the breakup process is investigated for reactions where at least one of the colliding nuclei has a sufficiently low binding energy for breakup to become an important process. Elastic scattering, excitation functions for sub-and near-barrier fusion cross sections, and breakup yields are analyzed for $^{6,7}$Li+$^{59}$Co. Continuum-Discretized Coupled-Channels (CDCC) calculations describe well the data at and above the barrier. Elastic scattering with $^{6}$Li (as compared to $^{7}$Li) indicates the significant role of breakup for weakly bound projectiles. …
The influence on the fusion process of coupling transfer/breakup channels is investigated for the medium weight $^{6,7}$Li+$^{59}$Co systems in the vicinity of the Coulomb barrier. Coupling effects are discussed within a comparison of predictions of the Continuum Discretized Coupled-Channels model. Applications to $^{6}$He+$^{59}$Co induced by the borromean halo nucleus $^{6}$He are also proposed.
We consider the influence of breakup channels on the complete fusion of weakly bound systems in terms of dynamic polarization potentials. It is argued that the enhancement of the cross section at sub-barrier energies may be consistent with recent experimental observations that nucleon transfer, often leading to breakup, is dominant compared to direct breakup. The main trends of the experimental complete fusion cross section for $^{6,7}$Li + $^{209}$Bi are analyzed in the framework of the DPP approach.
A large number of complete fusion excitation functions of reactions including the breakup channel were measured in recent decades, especially in the last few years. It allows us to investigate the systematic behavior of the breakup effects on the complete fusion cross sections. To this end, we perform a systematic study of the breakup effects on the complete fusion cross sections at energies above the Coulomb barrier. The reduced fusion functions F(x) are compared with the universal fusion functions which are used as a uniform standard reference. The complete fusion cross sections at energies …
The barrier distribution, originated from channel coupling effects in heavy-ion fusion reactions, has been extracted experimentally for many systems using either a fusion excitation function or an excitation function of large-angle quasi-elastic scattering. In this article, we discuss an application of the latter method to the $^{48}$Ca+$^{248}$Cm system, which is relevant to hot fusion reactions to synthesize superheavy elements. To this end, we carry out coupled-channels calculations for this system, taking into account the deformation of the target nucleus, and discuss the role of deformati…
We discuss the role of break-up process of a loosely-bound projectile in subbarrier fusion reactions. Coupled-channels calculations are carried out for $^{11}$Be + $^{208}$Pb and $^{4,6}$He + $^{238}$U reactions by discretizing in energy the particle continuum states. Our calculations show that the coupling to the break-up channel has two effects, namely the loss of flux and the dynamical modulation of fusion potential. Their net effects differ depending on the energy region. At energies above the Coulomb barrier, the former effect dominates over the latter and cross sections for complete fusi…
Complete fusion excitation functions of reactions involving breakup are studied by using the empirical coupled-channel (ECC) model with breakup effects considered. An exponential function with two parameters is adopted to describe the prompt-breakup probability in the ECC model. These two parameters are fixed by fitting the measured prompt-breakup probability or the complete fusion cross sections. The suppression of complete fusion at energies above the Coulomb barrier is studied by comparing the data with the predictions from the ECC model without the breakup channel considered. The results s…
Background: Several Time-Dependent Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (TDHFB) calculations predict that the super- fluidity enhances the fluctuations of the fusion barrier. This effect is not fully understood and not yet revealed experimentally. Purpose: The goal of this study is to investigate empirically the effect of the superfluidity on the fusion barrier width. Method: First, the local regression method is introduce and used to determine the barrier distribution more precisely. A second method that requires only the calculation of an integral of the cross section is developed to determine accurately…
The complete and incomplete fusion cross sections for $^{7}$Li+$^{124}$Sn reaction were measured using online and offline characteristic $γ$-ray detection techniques. The complete fusion (CF) cross sections at energies above the Coulomb barrier were found to be suppressed by $\sim$ 26 \% compared to the coupled channel calculations. This suppression observed in complete fusion cross sections is found to be commensurate with the measured total incomplete fusion (ICF) cross sections. There is a distinct feature observed in the ICF cross sections, i.e., $\textit{t}$-capture is found to be dominan…
To probe the role of the intrinsic structure of the projectile on sub-barrier fusion, measurement of fusion cross sections has been carried out in $^{9}$Be + $^{197}$Au system in the energy range E$_{c.m.}$/V$_B$ $\approx$ 0.82 to 1.16 using off-beam gamma counting method. Measured fusion excitation function has been analyzed in the framework of the coupled-channel approach using CCFULL code. It is observed that the coupled-channel calculations, including couplings to the inelastic state of the target and the first two states of the rotational band built on the ground state of the projectile, …
The classical dynamical model for reactions induced by weakly-bound nuclei at near-barrier energies is developed further. It allows a quantitative study of the role and importance of incomplete fusion dynamics in asymptotic observables, such as the population of high-spin states in reaction products as well as the angular distribution of direct alpha-production. Model calculations indicate that incomplete fusion is an effective mechanism for populating high-spin states, and its contribution to the direct alpha production yield diminishes with decreasing energy towards the Coulomb barrier. It a…
The recent availability of precisely measured fusion cross-sections has enabled the extraction of a representation of the distribution of barriers encountered during fusion. These representations, obtained from a variety of reactions, provide a direct observation of how the structure of the fusing nuclei changes the inter-nuclear potential landscape, thus affecting the fusion probability. Recent experiments showing the effects of static quadrupole and hexadecapole deformation, single-- and double-phonon states, transfer of nucleons between two nuclei, and high lying excited states are reviewed…
Recently measured fusion cross-sections for the neutron-rich system 20O+12C are compared to dynamic, microscopic calculations using time-dependent density functional theory. The calculations are carried out on a three-dimensional lattice and performed both with and without a constraint on the density. The method has no adjustable parameters, and its only input is the Skyrme effective NN interaction. While the microscopic DC-TDHF calculations lie closer to the experimental data than standard fusion systematics they underpredict the experimental data significantly.
The influence on the fusion process of coupling to collective degrees of freedom has been explored. The significant enhancement of the fusion cross section at sub-barrier energies was compared to predictions of one-dimensional barrier penetration models. This was understood in terms of the dynamical processes arising from strong couplings to collective inelastic excitations of the target and projectile. However, in the case of reactions where at least one of the colliding nuclei has a sufficiently low binding energy, for breakup to become an important process, conflicting model predictions and…
The fusion cross sections from well above barrier to extreme sub-barrier energies have been analysed using the energy (E) and angular momentum (L) dependent barrier penetration model ({\small{ELDBPM}}). From this analysis, the adiabatic limits of fusion barriers have been determined for a wide range of heavy ion systems. The empirical prescription of Wilzynska and Wilzynski has been used with modified radius parameter and surface tension coefficient values consistent with the parameterization of the nuclear masses. The adiabatic fusion barriers calculated from this prescription are in good agr…
The Skyrme energy density functional has been applied to the study of heavy-ion fusion reactions. The barriers for fusion reactions are calculated by the Skyrme energy density functional with proton and neutron density distributions determined by using restricted density variational (RDV) method within the same energy density functional together with semi-classical approach known as the extended semi-classical Thomas-Fermi method. Based on the fusion barrier obtained, we propose a parametrization of the empirical barrier distribution to take into account the multi-dimensional character of real…
The nuclear fusion is a reaction to form a compound nucleus. It plays an important role in several circumstances in nuclear physics as well as in nuclear astrophysics, such as synthesis of superheavy elements and nucleosynthesis in stars. Here we discuss two recent theoretical developments in heavy-ion fusion reactions at energies around the Coulomb barrier. The first topic is a generalization of the Wong formula for fusion cross sections in a single-channel problem. By introducing an energy dependence to the barrier parameters, we show that the generalized formula leads to results practically…
The cross sections of complete fusion and incomplete fusion for the $ ^{9} $Be + $ ^{197} $Au system, at energies not too much above the Coulomb barrier, were measured for the first time. The online activation followed by offline $γ$-ray spectroscopy method was used for the derivation of the cross sections. A slightly higher value of ICF/TF ratio has been observed, compared to other systems reported in the literature with $ ^{9} $Be beam. The experimental data were compared with coupled channel calculations without taking into account the coupling of the breakup channel, and experimental data …
The effect of breakup is investigated for the medium weight $^{6}$Li+$^{59}$Co system in the vicinity of the Coulomb barrier. The strong coupling of breakup/transfer channels to fusion is discussed within a comparison of predictions of the Continuum Discretized Coupled-Channels model which is also applied to $^{6}$He+$^{59}$Co a reaction induced by the borromean halo nucleus $^{6}$He.
The shell correction is proposed in the improved isospin dependent quantum molecular dynamics (ImIQMD) model, which plays an important role in heavy-ion fusion reactions near Coulomb barrier. By using the ImIQMD model, the static and dynamical fusion barriers, dynamical barrier distribution in the fusion reactions are analyzed systematically. The fusion and capture excitation functions for a series of reaction systems are calculated and compared with experimental data. It is found that the fusion cross sections for neutron-rich systems increase obviously, and the strong shell effects of two co…
With the recent availability of state-of-the-art radioactive ion beams, there has been a renew interest in the investigation of nuclear reactions with heavy ions near the Coulomb barrier. The role of inelastic and transfer channel couplings in fusion reactions induced by stable heavy ions can be revisited. Detailed Analysis of recent experimental fusion cross sections by using standard coupled-channel calculations is first discussed. Multi-neutron transfer effects are introduced in the fusion process below the Coulomb barrier by analyzing 32S+90,96Zr as benchmark reactions. The enhancement of …
Measurements of fusion cross-sections of 7Li and 12C with 198Pt at deep sub-barrier energies are reported to unravel the role of the entrance channel in the occurrence of fusion hindrance. The onset of fusion hindrance has been clearly observed in 12C + 198Pt system but not in 7Li + 198Pt system, within the measured energy range. Emergence of the hindrance, moving from lighter (6,7Li) to heavier (12C,16O) projectiles is explained employing a model that considers a gradual transition from a sudden to adiabatic regime at low energies. The model calculation reveals a weak effect of the damping of…
Analyses using simplified coupled-channels models have been unable to describe the shape of the previously measured fusion barrier distribution for the doubly magic $^{16}$O+$^{208}$Pb system. This problem was investigated by re-measuring the fission excitation function for $^{16}$O+$^{208}$Pb with improved accuracy and performing more exact coupled-channels calculations, avoiding the constant-coupling and first-order coupling approximations often used in simplified analyses. Couplings to the single- and 2-phonon states of $^{208}$Pb, correctly taking into account the excitation energy and the…
We consider the influence of breakup channels on the complete fusion of weakly bound cluster-type systems in terms of dynamic polarization potentials. It is argued that the enhancement of the cross section at sub-barrier energies may be consistent with recent experimental observations that nucleon transfer, often leading to breakup, is dominant compared to direct breakup. The main trends of the experimental complete fusion cross sections are analyzed in the framework of the Dynamic Polarization Potential approach. The qualitative conclusions are supported by CDCC calculations including a seque…
Complete fusion excitation functions for $^{9}$Be + $^{208}$Pb have been measured to high precision at near barrier energies. The experimental fusion barrier distribution extracted from these data allows reliable prediction of the expected complete fusion cross-sections. However, the measured cross-sections are only 68% of those predicted. The large cross-sections observed for incomplete fusion products support the interpretation that this suppression of fusion is caused by $^{9}$Be breaking up into charged fragments before reaching the fusion barrier. Implications for the fusion of radioactiv…
The method of fusion barrier distribution has been widely used to interpret the effect of nuclear structure on heavy-ion fusion reactions around the Coulomb barrier. We discuss a similar, but less well known, barrier distribution extracted from large-angle quasi-elastic scattering. We argue that this method has several advantages over the fusion barrier distribution, and offers an interesting tool for investigating unstable nuclei.
Fusion cross sections of 28Si + 28Si have been measured in a range above the barrier with a very small energy step (DeltaElab = 0.5 MeV). Regular oscillations have been observed, best evidenced in the first derivative of the energy-weighted excitation function. For the first time, quite different behaviors (the appearance of oscillations and the trend of sub-barrier cross sections) have been reproduced within the same theoretical frame, i.e., the coupled-channel model using the shallow M3Y+repulsion potential. The calculations suggest that channel couplings play an important role in the appear…
Excitations of colliding nuclei during a nuclear reaction considerably affect fusion cross sections at energies around the Coulomb barrier. It has been demonstrated that such channel coupling effects can be represented in terms of a distribution of multiple fusion barriers. We here apply a Bayesian approach to analyze the so called fusion barrier distributions. This method determines simultaneously the barrier parameters and the number of barriers. We particularly investigate the $^{16}$O+$^{144}$Sm and $^{16}$O+$^{154}$Sm systems in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method. The pr…
We investigate heavy-ion multinucleon transfer reactions using the coupled-channels formalism. We first use the semi-classical approximation and show that a direct coupling between the entrance and the pair transfer channels improves a fit to the experimental one- and two-neutron transfer cross sections for the 40Ca+96Zr and 60Ni+116Sn systems. We then discuss the validity of the perturbative approach and highlight the effect of high order terms. The effect of absorption is also investigated for energies around the Coulomb barrier. Finally, we use a quantal coupled-channels approach to achieve…
Fusion-evaporation cross-sections σevr in reactions known for fusion hindrance phenomenon in coupled-channels calculations at below-barrier energies, are studied in terms of the dynamical cluster-decay model (DCM) of one of us (RKG) and Collaborators and the Wong formula extended by us, both based on proximity potential, by using the concept of "barrier modification" at sub-barrier energies, first advocated by Misicu and Esbensen for M3Y potential. The DCM is shown to contain the "barrier lowering" as its inbuilt characteristic, and the same is found essential, and introduced empirically, in t…
We investigate the role of deformation on the fusion probability around the barrier using the Time-Dependent Hartree-Fock theory with a full Skyrme force. We obtain a distribution of fusion probabilities around the nominal barrier due to the different contributions of the various orientations of the deformed nucleus at the touching point. It is also shown that the long range Coulomb reorientation reduces the fusion probability around the barrier.
Preliminary experimental data for nucleon transfer reactions of the 40Ca+58Ni and 40Ca+64Ni systems are analyzed with the coupled- channels approach. It is shown that a simple treatment for the transfer in the coupled-channels method cannot reproduce simultaneously the transfer probabilities and the sub-barrier enhancement of fusion cross sections.
High precision measurements of the fusion excitation functions for the reactions ^{40}Ca + ^{194}Pt, ^{192}Os clearly demonstrate that projectile excitation significantly modifies the potential barrier distribution. In sharp contrast, fusion of ^{16}O + ^{144}Sm appears to show no influence of the projectile excitation on the shape of the barrier distribution. These apparently conflicting conclusions are reconciled in this work, using realistic coupled--channels calculations, which show that high energy states produce an adiabatic potential renormalisation. This result indicates that adiabatic…
The roles of nuclear deformation and neutron transfer in sub-barrier capture process are studied within the quantum diffusion approach. The change of the deformations of colliding nuclei with neutron exchange can crucially influence the sub-barrier fusion. The comparison of the calculated capture cross section and the measured fusion cross section in various reactions at extreme sub- barrier energies gives us information about the fusion and quasifission.
Total (complete + incomplete) fusion excitation functions of $^{6,7}$Li on $^{59}$Co and $^{209}$Bi targets around the Coulomb barrier are obtained using a new continuum discretized coupled channel (CDCC) method of calculating fusion. The relative importance of breakup and bound-state structure effects on total fusion is particularly investigated. The effect of breakup on fusion can be observed in the total fusion excitation function. The breakup enhances the total fusion at energies just around the barrier, whereas it hardly affects the total fusion at energies well above the barrier. The dif…
We discuss the applicability of the energy density formalism (EDF) for heavy-ion fusion reactions at sub-barrier energies. For this purpose, we calculate the fusion excitation function and the fusion barrier distribution for the reactions of $^{16}$O with $^{154,}$$^{144}$Sm,$^{186}$W and $^{208}$Pb with the coupled-channels method. We also discuss the effect of saturation property on the fusion cross section for the reaction between two $^{64}$Ni nuclei, in connection to the so called steep fall-off phenomenon of fusion cross sections at deep sub-barrier energies.
A detailed study fusion of neutron-rich colliding nuclei is performed using various isospin dependent potentials. For present study, Three different series namely, Ne-Ne, Ca-Ca, and Zr-Zr are taken into account and N/Z ratio.A monotonous increase (decrease) in the fusion barrier positions (heights) using a unified second order nonlinear parametrization in the normalized fusion barrier positions and heights with (N/Z-1) is presented. These predications are in good agreement with the available theoretical as well as experimental results.
[Background] Significant enhancement of sub-barrier fusion cross sections owing to neutron rearrangement with positive $Q$-values were found for many combinations of colliding nuclei. However several experimental results on fusion reactions were reported recently in which such enhancement has not been observed in spite of a possibility for neutron rearrangement with positive $Q$-values. [Purpose] We aim to clarify much better the mechanism of neutron rearrangement in sub-barrier fusion reactions to find the other requirements (beside positive $Q$-value) which favour (or prevent) sub-barrier fu…
It is suggested that the full nucleus-nucleus potential consists of the macroscopic and shell-correction parts. The deep sub-barrier fusion hindrance takes place in a nucleus-nucleus system with a strong negative shell-correction contribution to the full heavy-ion potential, while a strong positive shell-correction contribution to the full potential leads to weak enhancement of the deep sub-barrier fusion cross section.
Existing data on near-barrier fusion excitation functions of medium and heavy nucleus-nucleus systems have been analyzed using a simple diffused barrier formula derived assuming the Gaussian shape of the barrier height distributions. Fusion cross section is obtained by folding the Gaussian barrier distribution with the classical expression for the fusion cross section for a fixed barrier. The energy dependence of the fusion cross section, thus obtained, provides good description to the existing data on near-barrier fusion and capture excitation functions for medium and heavy nucleus-nucleus sy…
The relationship between the threshold energy for a deep sub-barrier fusion hindrance phenomenon and the energy at which the regime of interaction changes (the turning-off of the nuclear forces and friction) in the sub-barrier capture process, is studied within the quantum diffusion approach. The quasielastic barrier distribution is shown to be a useful tool to clarify whether the slope of capture cross section changes at sub-barrier energies.
The effect of continuum couplings in the fusion of the halo nucleus $^{11}$Be on $^{208}$Pb around the Coulomb barrier is studied using a three-body model within a coupled discretised continuum channels (CDCC) formalism. We investigate in particular the role of continuum-continuum couplings. These are found to hinder total, complete and incomplete fusion processes. Couplings to the projectile $1p_{1/2}$ bound excited state redistribute the complete and incomplete fusion cross sections, but the total fusion cross section remains nearly constant. Results show that continuum-continuum couplings e…
Various sub-barrier capture reactions with beams $^{16,18}$O are treated within the quantum diffusion approach. The role of neutron transfer in these capture reactions is discussed.
The enhancement of the sub-barrier fusion cross sections was explained as the lowering of the dynamical fusion barriers within the framework of the improved isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics (ImIQMD) model. The numbers of nucleon transfer in the neck region are appreciably dependent on the incident energies, but strongly on the reaction systems. A comparison of the neck dynamics is performed for the symmetric reactions $^{58}$Ni+$^{58}$Ni and $^{64}$Ni+$^{64}$Ni at energies in the vicinity of the Coulomb barrier. An increase of the ratios of neutron to proton in the neck region at i…
