Comparing the fusion of $^{19}$O and $^{20}$O ions with protons at near barrier energies

Abstract

Proton capture on $^{19,20}$O nuclei was measured in inverse kinematics with the active-target detector MuSIC@Indiana using CH$_4$ as the target gas. Direct measurement of the (p,n) cross section was enabled by the intrinsically high efficiency and self-normalizing nature of the measurement. The excitation function of both (p,n) reactions exhibits an oscillatory behavior. For the neutron-rich nuclei studied, determining the (p,n) cross section provides access to the proton fusion cross section because the proton's de Broglie wavelength is much larger than that of the heavy ion. A significant suppression of the cross section in $^{19}$O compared to $^{20}$O is observed, suggesting level-density differences. While the coupled channel calculations reproduce the oscillatory behavior observed in the case of $^{20}$O, they fail to predict the oscillatory behavior observed in $^{19}$O or the overall suppression of the fusion cross section.