Cold and hot binary and ternary fission yields in the spontaneous fission of 252Cf

The spontaneous fission (SF) of ²⁵²Cf has been studied via γ-γ-γ coincidence and light charged particle—γ-γ coincidence with Gammasphere. The yields of correlated Mo-Ba pairs in binary fission with 0–10 neutron emission have been remeasured with an uncompressed cube. The previous hot fission mode with 8–10 neutron emission seen in the Mo-Ba split is found to be smaller than earlier results but still present. New 0n binary SF yields are reported. By gating on the light charged particles detected in ΔE-E detectors and γ-γ coincidence with Gammasphere, the relative yields of correlated pairs in alpha ternary fission with zero to 6n emission are observed for the first time. The peak occurs around the α2n channel. A number of correlated pairs are identified in ternary fission with ¹⁰Be as the light charged particle. We observed only cold, 0n ¹⁰Be and little, if any, hot, xn ¹⁰Be channels.     

Yields and energy spectra of light charged particles emitted in neutron induced fission of235U

The yields and energy spectra of light charged particles emitted in the fission of²³⁵U have been measured in the neutron energy range of 100 keV to 1 MeV. The yield of long range alpha particles is found to increase around 200 keV neutron energy compared to thermal fission. A low energy component observed in the energy spectrum was assigned to the tritons emitted in fission. The yield of this triton component is seen to have a marked increase around 500 keV. These results indicate that LCP yield is influenced by the transition state level characteristics.     

Behavior of nuclear matter under extreme conditions in fission

The spontaneous fission of ²⁵²Cf has been studied via γ-γ-γ coincidence and γ-γ light charged particle coincidence with Gammasphere. The binary fission yields of correlated Mo?Ba pairs with 0–10 neutron emission have been remeasured. The existence of “hot” fission mode with 8–10 neutron emission seen previously in the Mo?Ba split is confirmed but with lower intensities. By gating on the light charged particles detected in ΔE-E detectors and a γ ray in one partner, the relative yields of correlated pairs in alpha ternary SF with zero to 6n emission are observed for the first time with the distribution peaked at 2.5n. New correlated pairs are identified in ¹⁰Be ternary SF. We observed essentially only cold, On ¹⁰Be and little, if any, hot, xn ¹⁰Be. New γ-γ-γ data with 2.3 times the total events show weak non-Doppler broadened high energy peaks in coincidence with transitions in correlated pairs in ¹⁰Be SF shifted by the same 6,1 to 26 keV from the 2-0 energy in ¹⁰Be as seen earlier.     

Multiplicity distribution of prompt gamma rays in spontaneous ternary fission of252Cf

The first and the second moments of the multiplicity distribution of prompt gamma rays in spontaneous ternary fission of²⁵²Cf have been measured by the multiple coincidence technique. While both these moments were found to be nearly independent of the energy of the light charged particle accompanying the fission fragments, the width of the multiplicity distribution was larger than that in the case of normal binary fission by about 20%.     

Identification of gamma transitions from He and Be ternary fission fragments

He and Be ternary fission processes of ²⁵²Cf have been studied in two experiments with the Gammasphere detector array with light charged particle detectors surrounding the source. From α-γ double gated spectra, neutron multiplicity distributions were determined for related α ternary fission pairs. In going from binary to α ternary SF for approximately the same mass splittings (A ≈ 104–146) the average neutron multiplicity decreases about 0.7 AMU. In the first light charged particle (LCP) γ-γ experiment, the ¹⁰Be spectrum was cutoff below 27 MeV and in the recent experiment, below 18 MeV. For high energy (E > 27 MeV) ¹⁰Be ternary fission, the data indicate that the largest yields go via the cold process (zero neutron evaporation). In the recent experiment with E cutoff of 18 MeV, the ¹⁰Be ternary SF was observed for zero to 4n emissions. It seems that in some cases like ¹³⁶Te, the On channel is the strongest and in the other cases like ¹⁰⁰Zr the 1n or 2n channel dominates. Clearly, there is a shift to lower average number of neutrons emitted for ¹⁰Be compared to α ternary SF. The ¹⁰⁴Zr and ¹³⁶Te cases where zero neutron emission occurs may be related to the fact that these nuclei are near the limits of the more neutron rich Zr and Te nuclei observed. The ¹³⁶Te is more spherical than the heavy partners in the other pairs and this may influence the 0n channel. Finally, the 0n channel may be more enhanced in the first data with the higher ¹⁰Be energy cutoff, leading to lower excitation energy. Also, we confirmed the 3368 keV peak with the FWHM of 60 keV emitted from the moving Be particles in the Doppler effect corrected spectrum.     

Quaternary fission

Quaternary fission is a nuclear reaction where the two customary fragments from fission are accompanied by two light charged particles. The process has been investigated at the ILL, Grenoble, for thermal neutron induced fission of ²³³U and ²³⁵U. The light particles were identified to be α particles and H isotopes (mostly tritons). Two different types of processes could be disentangled: in one of these processes all four charged particles are born in coincidence while the second process is in fact merely a special case of ternary fission where the ternary particle decays into two charged particles before reaching the detectors.     

Multiparameter study of 1H, 3H and 4He in fast neutron induced fission of 235U

The emission probabilities per fission of α-particles, tritons and protons have been measured in fast neutron induced fission of ²³⁵U. The measurements were carried out at neutron energies of 120, 180, 230 and 550 keV. AΔE-E semiconductor detector telescope was used to identify different light charged particles and the fission fragments were detected with an ionization chamber. The three-parameter data corresponding to the pulse heights from the ΔE-E detectors and the ion-chamber were recorded event by event on magnetic tape and were analyzed off-line by computer. No significant variation in the most probable energy ($\text{E}$) and the standard deviation (σ_E) of the energy spectra of different light charged particles with incident neutron energy was observed, although $\text{E}{}_{\mathrm{\alpha }}$ was seen to have a slightly higher value beyond E_n = 230 keV. The yield of α-particles in fission induced by neutrons of E_n ～ 200 keV was found to be higher by about 20 % than that in thermal neutron induced fission. The yields of tritons and protons were found to increase significantly with neutron energy.     

Experimental studies of nuclear fission dynamics near the scission point

Conditions for formation of angular and energy distributions of light particles emitted in ternary fission of ^{233, 235}U, ²³⁹Pu, and ²⁴⁵Cm nuclei induced by cold polarized neutrons have been studied in the course of investigating T-odd asymmetry in emission of these particles with respect to the plane formed by the fission axis and the polarization axis of the fissioning nucleus. The results obtained lead to the conclusion that in ternary fission charged particles are emitted by the fissioning nuclear system rotating around the polarization direction.     

Light charged particle emission and fission in238U+238U collisions at 1,740 MeV

Inclusive⁴He and⁴H energy spectra and heavy fragment coincidence correlations have been measured for reactions of 7.31 MeV/u²³⁸U with²³⁸U and^?197Au targets. The H/He production cross sections are in the range 15–26 mb, and their emission spectra are very similar for the two systems. The observed strong kinematic shifts with angle are reproduced in shape and magnitude by Monte Carlo simulations of particle evaporation from projectile-like and target-like fragments, indicating competition between charged particle emission and sequential fission. No evidence is found for high energy charged particle emission associated with ultra-highZ composite systems. Heavy fragment measurements indicate an abundance of quasielastic and deeply inelastic reaction fragments, as well as sequential fission of target and projectile nuclei. For²³⁸U nuclei, the fission occurs predominantly in an asymmetric mode, reminiscent of fission at low excitation energy. For²³⁸+²³⁸U reactions in the vicinity of the grazing angle, the frequency of single sequential fission (with survival of the partner fragment) is twice as large as double sequential fission in which both the target and projectile undergo fission. In²³⁸U+¹⁹⁷Au reactions, the survival probability of the heavy fragments is even greater. The surprisingly high survival probabilities of high-Z fragments imply a preponderance of very soft collisions in these very-heavy-ion reactions, at least at energies not very far over the Coulomb barrier.     

Correlations between fission fragments and light charged-particles in the reaction20Ne+197Au at 13 MeV/nucleon

rgy of light charged-particles has been measured in coincidence with one or two fission fragments in the reaction²⁰Ne+¹⁹⁷Au at a bombarding energy of 13 MeV/u. The fission cross section was found equal to 1,340±260 mb. Assuming that it represents the totality of the fusion cross section, the critical valuel _c is deduced equal to 93±9?, higher thanl _Bf=0=74 in the rotating liquid drop model. The main emission source for protons and alpha particles seems to be a thermally equilibrated composite system. The competition between fission and charged particle emission is unexpected in the frame of the statistical treatment. A high energy component is observed in the forward direction. These results correspond to the first step of a study programme on the evolution of nucleus-nucleus collisions between 10 and 100 MeV per nucleon.     

Angular distributions of light charged particles from 252Cf fission in the ranges 0–46° and 134–180°

Alpha particles, tritons, deuterons and protons accompanying ²⁵²Cf fission were registered in coincidence with both fission fragments by means of a system containing two-dimensional position-sensitive silicon detectors. Angular distributions, kinetic energy spectra of light charged particles as well as mass distributions of fission fragments in coincidence with light charged particles were measured. The experimental results are compared with some theoretical models.     

Angular distributions of prompt γ-rays in the binary and the light charged particle accompanied fission modes of252Cf

Double-differential emission probabilitiesW _γ(Θ _{γ, LF} E _γ) in angleΘ _{γ, LF} and energyE _γ for promptγ-rays have been measured in the spontaneous fission of²⁵²Cf. The detector system allowed theγ-deexcitation in both the binary and the light charged particle accompanied fission modes to be studied under equal conditions. Previous results for the binary fission mode have been confirmed. For the first time anisotropicγ-angular distributions were proved for the light charged particle accompanied fission mode. Theγ-anisotropies are rather similar for both fission modes but the shapes of the angular distributions differ considerably. Theγ-deexcitation of the fission fragments in the yrast region was described on the basis of the VMI model whereas reasonable assumptions were made for statisticalγ-emission. A simulation procedure starts from this conception and it was possible to reproduceγ-ray spectra and the correspondingγ-angular distributions. The observed energy-dependent shift of the maximum in the light charged particle accompanied fission mode may be understood as an influence of the equatorial alpha particles on the alignment of angular momentum produced in bending modes.     

Recent experimental studies on 252Cf ternary fission

The rare ternary fission (TF) process was hitherto studied mainly by inclusive measurements of the energies and fractional yields of the light charged particles (LCPs) from fission, or by experiments on the angular and energy correlation between LCPs and fission fragments (FF). The present article briefly describes a series of recent correlation measurements on ²⁵²Cf(sf) TF that include either the registration of neutrons and γ rays with LCPs and FFs, or the coincident registration of two LCPs. The population of excited states in LCPs has been identified, as well as the formation of neutron-unstable nuclei as short-lived intermediated LCPs, the sequential decay of particle-unstable LCP species into charged particle pairs, and “quaternary” fission with the emission of two charged particles right at scission.     

Angular momentum effect in prescission particle multiplicities for a light system by diffusion model

The effect of angular momentum on the competition between fission and particle emission during light system fission process was studied via fission diffusion model. The prescission particle multiplicities were found to increase with decreasing angular momentum. The experimental prescission proton and α particle multiplicities can be fitted for 10.6 MeV/nucleon ⁸⁴Kr(²⁷Al,binary fission) reaction with this model. Entrance channel effect found in [1] is proved to be angular momentum effect.     

Light charged particle emission in 485 MeV 56Fe + 197Au reactions: Correlations with heavy fragments and relationships to spin and lifetime

Emission of ⁴He and ¹H has been studied in reactions of 485 MeV ⁵⁶Fe + ¹⁹⁷Au, using low-threshold detector arrays for light charged particles, and two heavy-fragment trigger detectors placed at symmetrically opposite angles with respect to the beam direction. The light charged particles were measured both in singles and in coincidence with heavy products of deeply inelastic and fission reactions detected near the grazing angle. Statistical model analyses of the data show that most of the ⁴He/¹H intensity is due to evaporation from energy equilibrated emitters both in deeply inelastic and fission reactions. In deeply inelastic reactions, the observed ⁴He/¹H emission can be attributed to evaporation from the post-scission reactant-like products, while in fusion-like fission reactions evaporation from pre- and post-scission sources are observed in comparable amounts. Angle-integrated multiplicities for ₄He and ¹H are deduced for each source of emission, and are compared with results from similar systems. The experimental ⁴He/¹H multiplicity ratios indicate roughly equal probability for ⁴He and ¹H evaporation from a given excited source. The observation of pre-scission ⁴He/¹H in fusion-like fission reactions supports the notion that thermal equilibration and subsequent particle evaporation proceed more rapidly than the collective motions that drive the system toward fission. Conversely, the lack of appreciable ⁴He/¹H emission from pre-scission sources in deeply inelastic reactions implies that the interaction times are short compared to the time required for particle evaporation.     

New data on the ternary fission of 252Cf from the Gammasphere facility

Ternary fission of ²⁵²Cf was studied at Gammasphere using eight ΔE×E particle telescopes. Helium, beryllium, boron, and carbon light charged particles (LCPs) emitted with kinetic energy more than 9, 21, 26, and 32 MeV, respectively, were identified. The 3368-keV γ transition from the first 2⁺ excited state in ¹⁰Be was found and the population probability ratio N(2⁺)/N(0⁺) = 0.160 ± 0.025 was estimated. No evidence was found for 3368-keV γ rays emitted from a triple molecular state. For the first time, charge distributions are obtained for ternary fission fragments emitted with helium, beryllium, and carbon LCPs.     

Dynamical decay process of <Superscript>219, 220</Superscript>Ra<Superscript>*</Superscript> formed in <Superscript>10, 11</Superscript>B + <Superscript>209</Superscript>Bi reactions

The excitation functions for both the evaporation residue and fission have been calculated for ¹⁰B + ²⁰⁹Bi and ¹¹B + ²⁰⁹Bi reactions forming compound systems ^{219, 220}Ra^* , using the dynamical cluster-decay model (DCM) with effects of deformations and orientations of the nuclei included in it. In addition to this, the excitation functions for complete fusion (CF) are obtained by summing the fission cross-sections, neutron evaporation and charged particle evaporation residue cross-sections produced through the axn\ensuremath \alpha xn and pxn\ensuremath pxn (x = 2, 3, 4) emission channels for the ²¹⁹Ra system at various incident centre-of-mass energies. Experimentally the CF cross-sections are suppressed and the observed suppression is attributed to the low binding energy of ^{10, 11}B which breaks up into charged fragments. The reported complete fusion (CF) and incomplete fusion (ICF) excitation functions for the ²¹⁹Ra system are found to be nicely fitted by the calculations performed in the framework of DCM, without invoking a significant contribution from quasi-fission. Although DCM has been applied for a number of compound nucleus decay studies in the recent past, the same is being used here in reference to ICF and subsequent decay processes along with the CF process. Interestingly the main contribution to complete fusion cross-section comes from the fission cross-section at higher incident energies, which in DCM is found to consist of an asymmetric fission window, shown to arise due to the deformation and orientation effects of formation and decay fragments.     

Fission dynamics with the 4π detector 8πLP

A 4π light charged particle spectrometer, named 8πLP, is in operation at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro (Italy) for the study of the reaction mechanisms produced in low-energy heavy-ion reactions. The spectrometer has recently been used in a study of fission dynamics that involves the detection of light charged particles in the fission and evaporation residue channel in a system of intermediate fissility, as well as in a study of multinucleon transfer to heavy target. Data on the system 240 MeV ³²S + ¹⁰⁰Mo are presented. Dynamical effects extracted as a consequence of the comparison of the data to the statistical model calculations are discussed.     

Fission modes in charged-particle induced fission

The population of the three fission modes predicted by Brosa's multi-channel fission model for the uranium region was studied in different fissioning systems. They were produced bombarding²³²Th and²³⁸U targets by light charged particles with energies slightly above the Coulomb barrier. Though the maximum excitation energy of the compound nucleus amounted to about 22 MeV, the influences of various spherical and deformed nuclear shells on the mass and total kinetic energy distributions of fission fragments are still pronounced. The larger variances of the total kinetic energy distributions compared to those of thermal neutron induced fission were explained by temperature dependent fluctuations of the amount and velocity of alteration of the scission point elongation of the fissioning system. From the ratio of these variances the portion of the potential energy dissipated among intrinsic degrees of freedom before scission was deduced for the different fission channels. It was found that the excitation remaining after pre-scission neutron emission is mainly transferred into intrinsic heat and less into pre-scission kinetic energy.     

Cold valleys in the radioactive decay of <Superscript>248–254</Superscript>Cf isotopes

Based on the concept of cold valley in cold fission and fusion, we have investigated the cluster decay process in ^248–254Cf isotopes. In addition to alpha particle minima, other deep minima occur for S, Ar and Ca clusters. It is found that inclusion of proximity potential does not change the position of minima but minima become deeper. Taking Coulomb and proximity potential as interacting barrier for post-scission region, we computed half-lives and other characteristics for various clusters from these parents. Our study reveals that these parents are stable against light clusters and unstable against heavy clusters. Computed half-lives for alpha decay agree with experimental values within two orders of magnitude. The most probable clusters from these parents are predicted to be ⁴⁶Ar, ^48,50Ca which indicate the role of doubly or near doubly magic clusters in cluster radioactivity. Odd A clusters are found to be favorable for emission from odd A parents. Cluster decay model is extended to symmetric region and it is found that symmetric fission is also probable which stresses the role of doubly or near doubly magic ¹³²Sn nuclei. Geiger-Nuttal plots were studied for various clusters and are found to be linear with varying slopes and intercepts.