Reaction mechanisms in 24.3 MeV/nucleon 238U induced reactions through a comprehensive study of fission

Abstract Nuclear reaction mechanisms for systems characterized by very different asymmetries (U + C, Si, Ni, Au) have been investigated at 24.3 MeV / nucleon, using as observables both the fission products and the neutron multiplicity. It is clearly observed that the fusion process — whatever its completeness — can only occur with rather light target nuclei, indicating the persistence of potential energy effects much above the interaction barrier.