Unambiguous separation of low-energy fusion processes of weakly bound nuclei

This paper addresses the critical importance of an unambiguous separation of the different components of the total fusion cross-section, which is a great theoretical and experimental challenge, in order to make further progress in the field of low-energy fusion of weakly bound nuclei. Recent theoretical developments in this area are reviewed. Calculations based on a classical dynamical reaction model indicate that the contribution of sequential fusion to the complete fusion cross-section is very substantial. A toy quantum model is presented, which introduces position projection operators. These can be useful for a quantitative understanding of complete and incomplete fusion of weakly bound nuclei within a more realistic quantum model.