Study of the angular momentum distribution of compound nuclei obtained from fusion reactions close to the Coulomb barrier

The effect of the mass asymmetry of the input channel on the compound nuclei spin distribution. The 16O + 144Nd and 80Se + 80Se reactions produce the same 160Er compound nucleus in the 38 to 68 MeV energy range. In certain cases, the incident energies required to form the compound nucleus, at the same excitation energies, are very close to the Coulomb barrier. In the experimental device, the 'Chateau de Cristal' multidetector and additional sensors are used. The angular momentum distribution of the different evaporation products are measured by gamma spectrometry techniques. The fusion cross sections are measured by the time-of-flight technique. Theoretical predictions and experimental results concerning the distribution of the compound nucleus angular momentum are compared