Azimuthal angle dependence of the Coulomb barrier parameters for the interaction between two deformed nuclei

Abstract

The azimuthal angle ($\ensuremath{\varphi}$) dependence of the Coulomb barrier parameters (height ${V}_{b}$ and position ${R}_{b}$) are studied in the framework of the double-folding model with the realistic M3Y nucleon-nucleon interaction. Different pairs of axially symmetric, deformed nuclei are considered. For the interaction between medium and heavy nuclei, the maximum percentage of $\ensuremath{\varphi}$ dependence is studied as a function of relative orientations of the interacting nuclei. It appreciably increases as the values of the deformation parameters increase and is sensitive to the hexadecapole deformation. The smallest $\ensuremath{\varphi}$ variation is found for the relative orientations ${\ensuremath{\theta}}_{P}={\ensuremath{\theta}}_{T}={90}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$. The $\ensuremath{\varphi}$ variation of the Coulomb barrier parameters, as calculated in the present paper, is completely different in both magnitude and behavior from those deduced in the widely used proximity approach.