Mass-Asymmetric Barriers from Excitation Functions for Complex-Fragment Emission

M. A. McMahan; L. G. Moretto; M. L. Padgett; G. J. Wozniak; L. G. Sobotka; M. G. Mustafa

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.54.1995

Mass-Asymmetric Barriers from Excitation Functions for Complex-Fragment Emission

M. A. McMahan, L. G. Moretto, M. L. Padgett, G. J. Wozniak, L. G. Sobotka, and M. G. Mustafa

Phys. Rev. Lett. 54, 1995 – Published 6 May 1985

Abstract

The conditional saddle-point heights (conditional barriers) that preside over the emission of complex fragments ( $Z = 2 - 11$ ) from compound nuclei have been obtained from the excitation functions of individual fragments in the reaction ${}^{3}{He}$ + ${}^{nat}{Ag}$ . The magnitudes of the barriers and their dependence on mass asymmetry may be used to verify important features of the potential-energy surface including shell effects at the conditional saddle and to verify the validity of the liquid-drop model and recent refinements such as finite-range effects and surface diffuseness.