# Adiabatic self-consistent collective path in nuclear fusion reactions

## TL;DR

This paper uses the ASCC method to microscopically determine collective reaction paths in nuclear fusion, revealing deviations from standard models and highlighting the impact of inertial mass on sub-barrier fusion cross sections.

## Contribution

It introduces a microscopic approach to determine fusion reaction paths that are decoupled from intrinsic degrees of freedom, differing from standard mean-field calculations.

## Key findings

- Reaction paths deviate from standard mean-field results.
- Inertial mass influences sub-barrier fusion cross sections.
- Calculated potentials and inertial masses along reaction paths.

## Abstract

Collective reaction paths for fusion reactions, $^{16}$O+$\alpha$ $\rightarrow$ $^{20}$Ne and $^{16}$O+$^{16}$O $\rightarrow$ $^{32}$S, are microscopically determined, on the basis of the adiabatic self-consistent collective coordinate (ASCC) method. The collective path is maximally decoupled from other intrinsic degrees of freedom. The reaction paths turn out to deviate from those obtained with standard mean-field calculations with constraints on quadrupole and octupole moments. The potentials and inertial masses defined in the ASCC method are calculated along the reaction paths. The sub-barrier fusion cross sections are calculated for these systems. Inertial mass inside the Coulomb barrier may have a significant influence on the fusion cross section at the deep sub-barrier energy.