Nuclear surface parameters revisited

Abstract

The atomic nucleus is a leptodermous system in which the related densities fade gradually through the surface region. The surface is usually described by two parameters, one to describe the radius and the second to describe the surface width. In this study, we present a clear definition of the nucleons distribution surface based on the investigation of the surface region independent of the nuclear core. We also present an improved method for calculating the surface width relying only on the surface nucleons, avoiding the effect of the core nucleons. The proposed surface parameters are tested for centrally depressed, and centrally raised, distributions and the results confirmed the improvement in the surface description and the elimination of the exaggerated effect of core density on the values of surface parameters. The surface radii and surface widths, based on the proposed method, are presented for experimental proton distributions of 64 nuclei. Including the surface width by the proposed method in the nuclear proximity model improved the calculation of fusion barrier height and position compared to the experimental results.