Novel Role of Superfluidity in Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions

We demonstrate, within symmetry unrestricted time-dependent density functional theory, the existence of new effects in low-energy nuclear reactions which originate from superfluidity. The dynamics of the pairing field induces solitonic excitations in the colliding nuclear systems, leading to qualitative changes in the reaction dynamics. The solitonic excitation prevents collective energy dissipation and effectively suppresses the fusion cross section. We demonstrate how the variations of the total kinetic energy of the fragments can be traced back to the energy stored in the superfluid junction of colliding nuclei. Both contact time and scattering angle in noncentral collisions are significantly affected. The modification of the fusion cross section and possibilities for its experimental detection are discussed.