Fusion of neutron-rich oxygen nuclei

Measurement of the fusion excitation function for 18O + 12C and 19O + 12C is described. The fusion cross-section is extracted through the direct measurement of evaporation residues resulting from the fusion process. At near barrier energies, the single additional neutron present in 19O results in an enhancement in the fusion cross-section by a factor of over three as compared to 18O