The recently reported unusual behaviour of fusion cross-sections at extreme sub-barrier energies has been examined. The adiabatic limit of fusion barriers has been determined from experimental data using the barrier penetration model. These adiabatic barriers are consistent with the adiabatic fusion barriers derived from the modified Wilzynska-Wilzynski prescription. The fusion barrier systematics has been obtained for a wide range of heavy-ion systems.

A beam of 1 GeV proton coming from Dubna Nuclotron colliding with a lead target surrounded by 6 cm paraffin produces spallation neutrons. A Th-foil was kept on lead target (neutron spallation source) in a direct stream of neutrons for activation and other samples of ¹⁹⁷Au, ²⁰⁹Bi, ⁵⁹Co, ¹¹⁵In and ¹⁸¹Ta were irradiated by moderated beam of neutrons passing through 6 cm paraffin moderator. The gamma spectra of irradiated samples were analyzed using gamma spectrometry and DEIMOS software to measure the neutron cross-section. For this purpose neutron fluence at the positions of samples is also estimated using PREPRO software. The results of cross-sections for reactions ²³²Th($n, \gamma$), ²³²Th($n, 2n$), ¹⁹⁷Au($n, \gamma$), ¹⁹⁷Au($n, \alpha$), ¹⁹⁷Au($n, xn$), ⁵⁹Co($n, \alpha$), ⁵⁹Co($n, xn$), ¹⁸¹Ta($n, \gamma$) and ¹⁸¹Ta($n, xn$) are given in this paper. Neutronics validation of the Dubna Cascade Code is also done using cross-section data by other experiments.

At BARC, development of a Low Energy High Intensity Proton Accelerator (LEHIPA), as front-end injector of the 1 GeV accelerator for the ADS programme, has been initiated. The major components of LEHIPA (20 MeV, 30 mA) are a 50 keV ECR ion source, a 3 MeV Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) and a 20 MeV drift tube linac (DTL). The Low Energy Beam Transport (LEBT) and Medium Energy Beam Transport (MEBT) lines match the beam from the ion source to RFQ and from RFQ to DTL respectively. Design of these systems has been completed and fabrication of their prototypes has started. Physics studies of the 20{1000 MeV part of the Linac are also in progress. In this paper, the present status of this project is presented.

We calculate the electric dipolarizability of ⁷Li nucleus within the cluster model and estimate a value of about 0.0188 fm³. We also discuss the possibility of observing this in the scattering of ⁷Li from a ²⁰⁸Pb target at energies about 30 MeV.

The elastic scattering and the ⁶He angular distributions were measured in ⁷Li + ⁷Li reaction at two energies, $E_{lab} = 20$ and 25 MeV. FRDWBA calculations have been performed to explain the measured ⁶He data. The calculations were very sensitive to the choice of the optical model potentials in entrance and exit channels. The one-step proton transfer was found to be the dominant reaction mechanism in ⁶He production.

Accelerator-driven systems (ADS) have evoked lot of interest the world over because of their capability to incinerate the MA (minor actinides) and LLFP (long-lived fission products) radiotoxic waste and their ability to utilize thorium as an alternative nuclear fuel. One of the main subsystems of ADS is a high energy (∼1 GeV) and high current (∼30 mA) CW proton Linac. The accelerator for ADS should have high efficiency and reliability and very low beam losses to allow hands-on maintenance. With these criteria, the beam dynamics simulations for a 1 GeV, 30 mA proton Linac has been done. The Linac consists of normal-conducting radio-frequency quadrupole (RFQ), drift tube linac (DTL) and coupled cavity drift tube Linac (CCDTL) structures that accelerate the beam to about 100 MeV followed by superconducting (SC) elliptical cavities, which accelerate the beam from 100 MeV to 1 GeV. The details of the design are presented in this paper.

Nuclear physics research is growing on several fronts, along energy and intensity frontiers, with exotic projectiles and targets. The nuclear physics facilities under construction and those being planned for the future make the prospects for research in this field very bright.

The nuclear fission phenomenon continues to be an enigma, even after nearly 75 years of its discovery. Considerable progress has been made towards understanding the fission process. Both light projectiles and heavy ions have been employed to investigate nuclear fission. An extensive database of the properties of fissionable nuclei has been generated. The theoretical developments to describe the fission phenomenon have kept pace with the progress in the corresponding experimental measurements. As the fission process initiated by the neutrons has been well documented, the present article will be restricted to charged particle-induced fission reactions. The progress made in recent years and the prospects in the area of nuclear fission research will be the focus of this review.

An overview of the experimental result on simultaneous measurement of pre-scission neutron, proton, 𝛼-particle and GDR 𝛾-ray multiplicities for the reaction ²⁸Si+¹⁷⁵Lu at 159 MeV using the BARC–TIFR Pelletron–LINAC accelerator facility is given. The data were analysed using deformation-dependent particle transmission coefficients, binding energies and level densities which are incorporated in the code JOANNE2 to extract fission time-scales and mean deformation of the saddle-to-scission emitter. The neutron, light charged particle and GDR 𝛾-ray multiplicity data could be explained consistently. The emission of neutrons seems to be favoured towards larger deformation as compared to charged particles. The pre-saddle time-scale is deduced as (0–2) × 10⁻²¹ s whereas the saddle-to-scission time-scale is (36–39) × 10⁻²¹ s. The total fission time-scale is deduced as (36–41) × 10⁻²¹ s.

Management of long-lived nuclear waste produced in a reactor is essential for long-term sustenance of nuclear energy programme. A number of strategies are being explored for the effective transmutation of long-lived nuclear waste in general, and long-lived fission products (LLFP), in particular. Some of the options available for the transmutation of LLFP are discussed.