Compound-nucleus cross sections from heavy-ion reactions are here parametrized by two terms: one for the compound nucleus and one for the entrance channel. The former is simply based on ${A_{\mathrm{cn}}}^{\frac{1}{3}}$; the latter involves the tails of the nuclear charge-density distributions for the projectile and target. Excellent agreement is obtained with a wide range of experimental excitation functions. No parameter adjustments, even between the lightest and heaviest systems, are necessary.

• Received 6 July 1978

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.41.1529