Nucleus–nucleus potential from identical-particle interference

Abstract Based on the quantum interference between two-identical-nucleus scattering at energies around the Coulomb barrier, the barrier positions for 58 Ni+ 58 Ni and 16 O+ 16 O are extracted from Mott oscillations in the angular distributions around 90° for the first time. The angle separation of pairs of Mott scattering valleys around 90° has a direct relationship with the closest distance between two nuclei in elastic scattering. Together with the barrier height from fusion excitation function, the extracted barrier position provides a sensitive probe to constrain the model predictions for the nucleus–nucleus potential barrier.