Semi-classical approaches to heavy-ion reactions: fusion, rainbow, and glory

TL;DR

This paper reviews semi-classical methods for analyzing low-energy heavy-ion reactions, focusing on fusion involving neutron-rich nuclei and scattering phenomena like rainbow and glory patterns, highlighting their theoretical insights and applications.

Contribution

It discusses two key semi-classical topics in heavy-ion reactions, emphasizing the role of projectile breakup and interference effects in scattering patterns, building on Mahir Hussein's pioneering work.

Findings

Breakup processes significantly influence fusion reactions with neutron-rich nuclei.

Interference among semi-classical trajectories explains rainbow and glory scattering patterns.

Semi-classical approaches provide valuable insights into complex heavy-ion reaction dynamics.

Abstract

A semi-classical approximation has been a powerful tool in understanding the dynamics of low-energy heavy-ion reactions. Here we discuss two topics in this regard, for which Mahir Hussein was a world leading pioneer. The first topic is heavy-ion fusion reactions of neutron-rich nuclei, in which the breakup process of the projectile nucleus plays a crucial role. The second is rainbow and glory scattering, for which characteristic oscillatory patterns in differential cross sections can be well understood in terms of intereferences among several semi-classical trajectories.