Effect of nuclear rotation on nucleon transfer and fusion in low-energy heavy-ion collisions

We perform time-dependent Hartree-Fock simulations of the collision between $^{16}\mathrm{O}$ and a rotating $^{24}\mathrm{Mg}$ nucleus, whose intrinsic rotation is initialized using the cranked Hartree-Fock method. At sub-barrier incident energies, nuclear rotation significantly broadens the neutron and charge distributions of the reaction products, with a strong dependence on the initial orientation of the deformed nucleus. This enhancement of net nucleon transfer is attributed to a microscopic mechanism where rotation hinders the reverse transfer of nucleons during the separation phase. Furthermore, for specific noncentral collisions, the counteralignment of intrinsic and orbital angular momenta reduces the system's total angular momentum, thereby increasing the fusion probability. These findings highlight the critical role of nuclear rotation in modulating reaction outcomes.