On the Fusion of Neutron/ Proton-Rich Colliding Nuclei Using Isospin-Dependent Potentials

By using different isospin dependent proximity-type potentials, we performed a detailed study of neutron/proton-rich colliding nuclei with N/Z ratio between 0.5 and 2.0. Isotopes of three different series namely, Ne-Ne, Ca-Ca, and Zr-Zr are taken into account. 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 predictions are in good agreement with the available theoretical as well as experimental results. The fusion probabilities, however shows linear dependence. Further, the neutron/proton content plays dominant role at near barrier energies only. Our results are also independent of the model used as well as reaction partner and isospin content. More experiments are needed to verify our predictions

COVID-19 and its implications on students’ learning behaviour

Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the educational institutions in India suddenly switched to online mode of teaching. This new learning mode gives the flexibility to connect at any time from any place. This sudden shift has impacted the learning behaviour of students to a large extent, which is studied and analysed in this paper for a computer programming course. An online questionnaire is prepared and circulated among the students for which 158 responses were received. Based on the responses, it is found out from the analysis that 75.32% of students favour learning this course in offline mode while 48.1% favour the virtual mode. The maximum support for the classroom teaching is evident from the data which shows that 98.73% students find the teacher’s competency good in offline mode, 98.1% find teacher’s content delivery effective in offline mode and 79.75% are of the view that possibility of frequent interaction is more in offline mode, whereas 87.97%, 85.44% and 42.41% of students are congenial with the online mode in terms of same parameters. Also, 69.62% of students are comfortable with offline mode, while 55.06% with online mode. For evaluation mode and pattern of question paper, 78.5% favour online mode of evaluation with a mix of multiple-choice questions and coding questions. It is irrespective of their preference to offline mode for teaching-learning. In the end, some recommendations are proposed based on the analysis to improve the teaching-learning methodology during the time of crisis

The Dependence of Surface Diffuseness Parameter on N/Z Ratio of The Fusion of Neutron-Rich Colliding Nuclei

Surface diffuseness parameter used in Woods-Saxon form of potential have been extracted from a large number of experimentally studied neutron-rich fusion cross sections at near barrier energies. The results of our systematic study reveals that the extracted diffuseness parameter depend linearly on the N/Z ratio of the fusing nuclei. Further, we demonstrated that the extracted values of surface diffuseness parameter lies within the range a = 0.40 to 0.73 fm as compared to commonly accepted value form elastic scattering data i.e. 0.63 fm

Analyzing the students\u27 learning behaviour for a technical course during COVID-19

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the learning behaviour of students towards a technical course in the two learning modes, remote learning (online) and in-person learning (offline). Due to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in India, the educational fraternity has successfully reached out to the students using the various virtual tools available. Although, the offline mode of teaching-learning i.e. the actual classroom interaction is quite important as far as a technical course is concerned, but during these tough times the online platforms like Zoom, Webex meetings, Google meet have made the teaching-learning feasible remotely at any time from any place. This paper compares the learning behaviour of students in the two modes, emergency virtual mode and offline mode. A total of 213 Bachelors of Engineering (BE) students studying a technical course, Modern and Computational Physics, participated in the survey and their responses based on a questionnaire were recorded. The questionnaire considered all aspects related to the delivery of contents, the evaluation method, the preferred way of clarifying students’ doubts, course difficulty level and duration of the course. The analysis suggests that 72.3% of students are in favour of learning this course using offline mode, while 27.7 % of students are comfortable with virtual online mode. Furthermore, the present study reveals that 95.7%, 95.3%, and 75.1 % of students are congenial with the offline mode in terms of teacher competency, content delivery, and interaction possibility respectively, whereas 85%, 76.9% and 48.4% of students are congenial with the remote online mode in terms of same parameters. The higher magnitude of average mean value for offline mode (3.99) anticipates its dominance over online mode (3.18). More than 50% students favoured online mode along with multiple choice question papers for the evaluation process irrespective of their preference to offline mode for teaching-learning. Based on the present analysis, some recommendations are proposed as the future strategies to improve the performance of teaching-learning activities during the times of crisis

Analytical parametrization of fusion barriers using proximity potentials

Using the three versions of proximity potentials, namely proximity 1977, proximity 1988, and proximity 2000, we present a pocket formula for fusion barrier heights and positions. This was achieved by analyzing as many as 400 reactions with mass between 15 and 296. Our parametrized formula can reproduced the exact barrier heights and positions within an accuracy of $\pm1$. A comparison with the experimental data is also in good agreement.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure

A modified proximity approach in the fusion of heavy-ions

By using a suitable set of the surface energy coefficient, nuclear radius, and universal function, the original proximity potential 1977 is modified. The overestimate of the data by 4 % reported in the literature is significantly reduced. Our modified proximity potential reproduces the experimental data nicely compared to its older versions.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, Chin. Phys. lett.(2010) in pres