Beyond the coherent coupled channels description of nuclear fusion

Phys Rev Lett. 2007 Nov 9;99(19):192701. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.192701. Epub 2007 Nov 6.

Abstract

New measurements of fusion cross sections at deep sub-barrier energies for the reactions 16O+{204,208}Pb show a steep but almost saturated logarithmic slope, unlike 64Ni-induced reactions. Coupled channels calculations cannot simultaneously reproduce these new data and above-barrier cross-sections with the same Woods-Saxon nuclear potential. It is argued that this highlights an inadequacy of the coherent coupled channels approach. It is proposed that a new approach explicitly including gradual decoherence is needed to allow a consistent description of nuclear fusion.