(en) The principal goal of this thesis is to highlight a possible "neutron skin" effect in the nuclear reaction mechanisms between heavy ions at energies around 6 MeV/nucleon. To this end, the reactions 58Ni+122Sn at 354 and 375.5 MeV and 64Ni+116Sn at 382.5 MeV were carried out at the CYCLONE accelerator in Louvain-la-Neuve. The projectile Ni and the target Sn were selected because of their magicity in proton. This characteristic implies the existence of a proton core more bound and of a neutron peripheral distribution in the isotopes 64Ni and 122Sn, rich in neutrons. The first goal was, to observe the possible influence of these neutrons on the fusion probability between the projectile and the target. In addition, the two types of reactions were selected in order to produce the same compound nucleus (180Pt) with the same excitation energy or with the same angular momentum. Thus, the effect of a neutron skin could be observed from the point of view of the production as from the point of view of the de-excitation of the compound nucleus. This de-excitation can proceed by evaporation of light particles or by fission. So, on the one hand, the fusion, fusion-evaporation and fusion-fission cross sections, and, on the other hand, the multiplicities of the light particles (neutrons, protons or alpha) emitted by the compound nucleus or by the fission fragments should have been compared. The experimental realization of this project required the use of the neutron detection system DEMON made up of 90 liquid scintillators laid out on a 4 m in diameter sphere which contain an aluminium chamber under vacuum. The chamber contained two multi-wire proportionnal counters XY intended for the detection of the fission fragments, two systems of Silicon junctions coupled with microchannels intended for the detection of evaporation residues and finally six triple Silicon telescope intended for the detection of the light charged particles (protons and alpha). At the end of the analysis, it was shownthat the cross sections of fusion are identical, within the error bars (about 10 %), for the two types of studied reactions.Also, it was observed that the possible compound nucleus de-excitations are independent of its production, as well on the competition between fission and evaporation as on the light particle emission. No effect of neutron skin was thus highlighted in the nuclear reaction mechanisms leading to fusion of the target and the projectile at energy around 6 MeV/nucleon. An effect seems nevertheless to appear in the nucleons transfer reactions in which the compound nucleus does not amalgamate.
Roberfroid, V. (2003). Effet de peau de neutrons dans les mécanismes des réactions nucléaires 58Ni+122Sn et 64Ni+116Sn autour de 6 MeV/nucléon. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/129929