Transition fission states for heated nuclei

Induced fission reactions of fissioning compound nuclei that result from the capture of various incident particles (nucleons, γ rays, multiply charged ions) by target nuclei are investigated using the generalized nucleus model and the Wigner random matrix method. The effect produced on the fission widths of the compound nucleus by the competition between the excitation energies of its collective vibrational degrees of freedom that lead to its scission into fission fragments and its rotational and multi-quasiparticle states is analyzed. Bohr’s concept of transition fission states developed for near-barrier nuclear fission is generalized to the induced fission of nuclei with the excitation energies noticeably higher than the fission barriers. The temperature of the fissioning nucleus in the vicinity of the point of its scission into fission fragments is estimated.