Macroscopic potential energy surfaces of heavy and superheavy nuclei

Potential energy surfaces of heavy and superheavy nuclei function of the separation distance of the fragments and the mass-asymmetry are calculated within the Yukawa-plus-exponential phenomenological model, by using the nuclear surface parametrization of two intersected spheres. The fusion barrier height and the saddle-point position are studied for 200 even-even compound nuclei with atomic numbers Z = 90 - 104 and neutron numbers N = 128 - 176. When the mass number increases along the line of beta-stability, the barrier height decreases from 23.89 MeV to 10.34 MeV. The saddle-point position of the majority of nuclides lies outside the touching-point configuration (separated fragments); it moves inside (overlapping participants) for heavier nuclei.