Microscopic analysis of sub-barrier fusion enhancement in $^{132}$Sn+$^{40}$Ca vs. $^{132}$Sn+$^{48}$Ca}

Abstract

We provide a theoretical analysis of recently measured fusion cross sections which show a surprising enhancement at low $E_\mathrm{c.m.}$ energies for the system $^{132}$Sn+$^{40}$Ca as compared to the more neutron-rich system $^{132}$Sn+$^{48}$Ca. Dynamic microscopic calculations are carried out on a three-dimensional lattice with a time-dependent density-constrained density functional theory. There are no adjustable parameters, the only input is the Skyrme effective NN interaction. Heavy-ion potentials $V(R)$, coordinate-dependent mass parameters $M(R)$, and total fusion cross sections $\sigma(E_\mathrm{c.m.})$ are calculated for both systems. We are able to explain the measured fusion enhancement in terms of the {\it narrower width} of the ion-ion potential for $^{132}$Sn+$^{40}$Ca, while the barrier heights and positions are approximately the same in both systems.