Hindrance of complete fusion in 18O + 165Ho reaction at above the barrier energies: Role of angular momentum

In an experimental approach to investigate the role of projectile structure in above barrier fusion suppression, complete and incomplete fusions are studied using the 18 O + 165 Ho system at E lab ≈ 78–104 MeV. Off-line γ -ray measurement technique is utilized for the measurement of excitation function of the populated evaporation residues. Complete and incomplete fusion reaction channels have been identified in the light of statistical model code PACE4. Extending the approach of Mukeru et al. (Nucl Phys A 996:121700, 2020) to fusion reaction induced by tightly bound projectile 18 O over different targets, cutoff angular momentum is extracted from experimentally measured complete fusion cross section data at different beam energies. Degree of fusion suppression is estimated by exposing the extracted fusion function to universal fusion function. Sum-rule model-based critical angular momentum and incomplete fusion fraction are found to be strongly driven by Coulomb repulsion and reduced mass of the projectile–target system.