Quantum Tunneling in Nuclear Fusion

Recent theoretical advances in the study of heavy ion fusion reactions below the Coulomb barrier are reviewed. Particular emphasis is given to new ways of analyzing data, such as studying barrier distributions; new approaches to channel coupling, such as the path integral and Green function formalisms; and alternative methods to describe nuclear structure effects, such as those using the Interacting Boson Model. The roles of nucleon transfer, asymmetry effects, higher-order couplings, and shape-phase transitions are elucidated. The current status of the fusion of unstable nuclei and very massive systems are briefly discussed.Comment: To appear in the January 1998 issue of Reviews of Modern Physics. 13 Figures (postscript file for Figure 6 is not available; a hard copy can be requested from the authors). Full text and figures are also available at http://nucth.physics.wisc.edu/preprints

Pairing Effects in Nuclear Fusion Reaction

We simulate a heavy-ion collision using the canonical-basis time-dependent Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov theory (Cb-TDHFB) treating pairing correlation in the three-dimensional coordinate space. We apply the Cb-TDHFB to 22O+22O collision with a contact-type pairing energy functional, and compare results of Cb-TDHFB and TDHF to investigate the effects of pairing correlations in nuclear fusion. Our results seem to indicate that pairing effects do not increase the fusion cross section in this system.Comment: 4 pges, 2 figures, Proceedings of the 12th Asia Pacific Physics Conference(APPC12