Fusion cross section for Ni-based reactions within the relativistic mean-field formalism

In this theoretical study, we establish an interrelationship between the nucleon-nucleon potential and the nuclear fusion reaction cross sections at low energies. The axially deformed self-consistent relativistic mean field with nonlinear NL3* and TM1 force parameters is used to calculate the density distributions of the projectile and target nuclei, which are further used in the double-folding approach to obtain the nucleus-nucleus interaction potentials. The Wong formula is used to estimate the fusion cross section and barrier distributions from the nucleus-nucleus optical potential for Ni-based systems, which are known for fusion hindrance phenomena. The results of the application of the so-obtained nucleus-nucleus potential for the fusion cross section from the recently developed relativistic effective NN interactions (R3Y) are compared with the well-known, phenomenological M3Y potential. The effect of the nucleon-nucleon interaction potential on the fusion cross section, in terms of the nuclear interaction potential, is included in the present analysis. We found relatively good results from R3Y interactions below the barrier energies as compared to the M3Y potential concerning the experimental data.