Simulation of fusion and quasi-fission in nuclear reactions leading to production of superheavy elements using the Constrained Molecular Dynamics model

TL;DR

This paper investigates fusion and quasi-fission in nuclear reactions leading to superheavy elements using the constrained molecular dynamics model, deriving constraints on nuclear matter properties from experimental data.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of the constrained molecular dynamics model to study fusion dynamics and derives nuclear matter constraints consistent with previous findings.

Findings

Constraint on nuclear matter incompressibility K0 = 240-260 MeV

Weak influence of symmetry energy stiffness on fusion probability

Consistency with previous models and neutron star observations

Abstract

Fusion dynamics and the onset of quasi-fission in reactions, leading to production of superheavy nuclei are investigated using the constrained molecular dynamics model. Constraints on the parameters of the nuclear equation of state are derived from experimental fusion probabilities. The obtained constraint on the modulus of incompressibility of nuclear matter K0 = 240 - 260 MeV is consistent with the results of previous study using the Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck equation and also with constraints derived using the recent neutron star binary collision event GW170817. Unlike the modulus of incompressibility of symmetric nuclear matter, the stiffness of the density-dependence of symmetry energy influences the fusion probability only weakly.