Calculating the S -matrix of low-energy heavy-ion collisions using quantum coupled-channels wave-packet dynamics

Abstract

We investigate the fusion and scattering of a O16 projectile on Sm152,154 targets using the time-dependent coupled-channels wave-packet method. We benchmark calculations of the S-matrix elements, fusion cross sections, and scattering differential cross sections with those from the time-independent coupled-channels method, and compare the results to experimental data. We find that our time-dependent method and the time-independent method produce quantitatively similar results for the S-matrix elements and fusion cross sections, but our method cannot quantitatively explain the experimental scattering differential cross sections, mainly due to the low maximum number of partial waves produced by the time-dependent method. Nevertheless, the strong agreements between our method and the time-independent method demonstrates that the time-dependent coupled-channels wave-packet method can be used to address fusion reactions for a wide range of energies, with the advantage of being able to extend to time-dependent Hamiltonians for more advanced modeling of nuclear reactions.