Heavy-ion fusion: Comparison of experimental data with classical trajectory models

Currently available data on fusion excitation functions for heavy-ion induced reactions over a wide mass range are compared to results calculated with a classical dynamical model based on the proximity nuclear potential of Blocki et al., the Coulomb potential of Bondorf et al., and one-body nuclear friction in the proximity formalism of Randrup. With these conservative and dissipative forces and the radial parameters of Myers, overall good agreement is obtained between the theoretical excitation functions and most of the available data. Extensive calculations have been performed to test the sensitivity of the calculated fusion cross-sections to a number of parameters, including the radial dependence of the Coulomb and nuclear potentials, the radial and tangential friction form factors as well as the projectile and target radii. The theoretical excitation functions for the lighter heavy-ion systems are rather insensitive to changes in either the conservative or dissipative forces. The calculations show that tangential friction sufficient to produce the rolling condition is necessary to explain the magnitude of the fusion cross-sections at high energies, which are also sensitive to the magnitude of the radial friction component. This is in contrast to the fusion cross-sections at low energies which are determined by the nuclear potential at larger separations, and to a lesser extent by tangential friction. The low energy fusion data are most sensitive to the nuclear radii. The calculations reveal the importance of more experimental measurements of fusion cross-sections at high energies, especially for heavy systems where the magnitudes of the fusion cross-sections are the most sensitive to the assumed forces. However, even for these cases the effects of the conservative and dissipative forces are similar and difficult to separate. These studies indicate, however, that it is possible to construct a conservative potential that will give calculated fusion excitation functions which are in good agreement with all experimental data over the entire mass range. The maximum fusion cross-sections as defined here exceed considerably the liquid-drop limiting value for heavy systems.