Role of deformed Coulomb potential in the fusion process at different orientations of the colliding nuclei

We discuss the effect of adding deformation in the Coulomb potential in the fusion process using well tested proximity based nuclear potentials. This effect is analyzed at different orientations of the two colliding nuclei. Our study reveals that different (oblate/prolate) quadruple deformations in the Coulomb potential affect the total interaction potential in the inner region in different manner. In addition to nature of deformation (oblate/prolate), the depth of the fusion pocket also varies with change in orientations of colliding nuclei. A totally opposite trend of variation is observed in case of spherical-oblate and oblate-oblate systems as compared to spherical-prolate and prolate-prolate systems. (paper)