Fusion induced by medium-mass radioactive ion beams

The use of radioactive ion beams in nuclear physics experiments has increased rapidly in recent years. A variety of short-lived nuclei and beam energies are available. With medium-mass, neutron-rich radioactive nuclei, the influence of neutron excess on fusion and compound nucleus survival can be explored. This can improve our understanding on how to synthesize new neutron-rich heavy nuclei. Fusion induced by medium-mass, neutron-rich radioactive nuclei, S-38, Sn-132,Sn-134, and Te-134 has been measured. Enhanced fusion cross sections were observed in these measurements. However, in most of the cases the enhancement is due to the lowering of the barrier by the larger nuclear sizes except for Sn-134 induced fusion. Results from these experiments and future plans are discussed.