Microscopic calculations of potential energy surfaces: fission and fusion properties

Various valleys of the deformation potential energy surface relevant to fission and fusion processes have been investigated within the same Skyrme-Hartree-Fock plus BCS microscopic model in the A = 70 and A > 220 mass regions. The available experimental fission barrier heights of actinides are reproduced within a rms error of 1.5 MeV whereas the conditional barriers of the considered light nucleus are overestimated by about 10 MeV. The fission paths describing the descent from saddle to scission have been found consistent with the results obtained with the Gogny force used in the Hartree-Fock-Bogolyubov approach and in agreement with the experimental mass distributions. In general, the valleys corresponding to very asymmetric separated shapes (close to the Pb plus light partner configuration) are in agreement with the most favorable target-projectile combinations in cold fusion reactions experimentally used to form such compound nuclei. The deduced fusion barrier heights have been found about 10 MeV lower than those obtained within the Extended Thomas Fermi model