Eur. Phys. J. A (2011) 47: 146
https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/i2011-11146-8

Regular Article - Theoretical Physics

Coulomb reorientation in near-barrier fusion of deformed+spherical systems in classical dynamical approach

¹ Department of Physics, Navyug Science College, 395009, Surat, India
² Department of Physics, Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, 395007, Surat, India

^* e-mail: ssgodre@yahoo.com

Received: 10 September 2011
Accepted: 3 November 2011
Published online: 28 November 2011

Abstract

A classical rigid-body dynamics model which takes into account all the translational and the rotational degrees of freedom is developed to study Coulomb reorientation of deformed nuclei in heavy-ion collisions. Various aspects of the collision dynamics in the case of near-barrier fusion of ²⁴Mg + ²⁰⁸Pb system due to the Coulomb reorientation are studied; the dependence of the extent of reorientation of the symmetry axis of the deformed nucleus, isotropy of the initial orientations, barrier parameters, and rotational excitation energy are discussed in detail. It is found that the barrier parameters not only depend on the initial orientations of the deformed nucleus but also on the collision energy; with maximum reorientation effect at near- and below-barrier energies. Even small amount of the rotational excitation energy gained by the deformed nucleus at large separation distances is crucial in determining the conditions at the barrier. Study of ¹⁵⁴Sm + ¹⁶O and ²³⁸U + ¹⁶O systems involving heavier deformed nuclei shows that the extent of reorientation also depends on the moment of inertia of the deformed nucleus.