Approximating the spin distributions in capture reactions between spherical nuclei

Twenty years ago an approximation for the spin distribution of the dinuclear systems formed in capture reactions with heavy ions was proposed. This approximation is used nowadays. However, since that time the experimental errors of the measured capture cross sections were reduced drastically. We show that the accuracy of the old spin distribution approximation is certainly out of date and propose a new approximation built on the dynamical modeling of the capture process. Results suggest that this new approximation might be useful especially for performing modeling of decay of excited dinuclear systems (compound nuclei) formed during heavy-ion collisions.