Threshold energy for sub-barrier fusion hindrance phenomenon

The relationship between the threshold energy for a deep sub-barrier fusion hindrance phenomenon and the energy at which the regime of interaction changes (the turning-off of the nuclear forces and friction) in the sub-barrier capture process, is studied within the quantum diffusion approach. The quasielastic barrier distribution is shown to be a useful tool to clarify whether the slope of capture cross section changes at sub-barrier energies.