Nuclear fission of Ra and Th isotopes

The fission modes and the corresponding nuclear shapes of Ra and Th isotopes are considered. It is shown that the fission of ²¹⁶Ra is expected to be predominantly symmetric, in accordance with recent experimental findings.     

Influence of the shell effects on fission fragment angular anisotropies

The influence of the damping shell corrections with increasing excitation energy on the fission fragment angular anisotropies is considered. In the framework of the statistical approach to nuclear fission, experimental data on fission fragment angular anisotropies obtained in the ⁴He + ²³⁸U reaction is analyzed. Information about the energy dependence of the shell corrections is obtained from this analysis.     

Some dynamical aspects of the fission process

The properties of the nuclear mass parameter and its influence on the fission process are discussed. In particular, correlations between dynamical and statical paths to fission are considered. The least action trajectories idea is used for finding the dynamical path to fission. Ritz method for the action integral minimalization is applied. An example of the nucleus ²⁵²Fm is considered.     

Angular distribution of fission fragments in reactions of complete fusion of deformed nuclei

Formation of angular distributions of fission fragments for the ¹⁶O + ²³²Th and ¹²C + ^235,236U reactions has been analyzed within a dynamic approach. In this approach, the component of the total angular momentum along the fission axis K is considered as a fluctuating quantity and the corresponding relaxation time is assumed to be the main parameter controlling the evolution of this mode. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the effect of initial distributions over K (formed during fusion) on the angular distribution of fission fragments of nuclei having fission barriers comparable with the nuclear temperatures.     

Fission of muonic 232Th and 239Pu

The neutron emission is studied following the formation of muonic atoms of ²³²Th and ²³⁹Pu. Energy and time distributions are measured. Various processes which contribute to the measured spectra are considered. A collective resonance model of the muon capture is used to calculate the nuclear excitation function. The probability of the radiationless nuclear excitations and the influence of the presence of the bound atomic muon on the fission barrier are discussed. The existing data for the $\text{Γ}{}_{\mathrm{n}}\text{Γ}{}_{\mathrm{f}}$, are analysed. As a result of the analysis the rates of the prompt and delayed fission events (due to the radiationless mu-atomic transitions and the nuclear muon capture, respectively) are deduced from the experimental data to be 0.006/muon and 0.045/muon for ²³²Th and 0.10/muon and 0.49/muon for ²³⁹Pu, respectively. The increase of the fission barrier for muonic atoms is confirmed. The experimental neutron rates can be consistently explained only if it is assumed that in both nucleides the K_α radiationless transitions do not induce fission. The increase of the fission barrier for ²³⁹Pu is hence deduced to be not less than 1.2 MeV. The fate of the atomic muon after the nuclear fission is briefly discussed. Its influence on the interpretation of the present results is found to be small.     

Collective mass parameters in the nuclear fission process

The theory of nuclear fission process is considered. The effective mass parameters are calculated as a function of the following collective coordinates: the separation between the centres of harmonic oscillators, the mass asymmetry parameter and the necking parameter. Numerical calculations are carried out for the fission of²³⁶U and²³⁸U nuclei. Symmetric and asymmetric cases are considered. From the present calculation we see the importance of taking into account the necking parameter as a dynamical collective coordinate.     

True ternary fission and the rotation effect

Path calculations for fragments of the spontaneous true ternary fission of a ²⁵²Cf nucleus are performed. The results are considered from the standpoint of symmetries underlying the generalized nuclear model, and substantiation of the physical picture of the coaxial emission of the fragments during true ternary fission. The calculations are performed with allowance for the ROT effect, which is regarded as a major disturbance in this scenario. The obtained results are in agreement with experimental data.     

Effect of the orientation degree of freedom on the rate and time of fission of highly excited nuclei

The effect of the dimensionality of the dynamical model used on the fission rate and mean time is studied within a multidimensional stochastic approach to fission dynamics. These features of fission of excited compound nuclei are calculated within four-dimensional Langevin dynamics, where the coordinate K, which is the projection of the total angular momentum onto the symmetry axis of the nucleus being considered, is taken into account in addition to three collective shape coordinates introduced on the basis of the {c, h, a} parametrization. The evolution of this orientation degree of freedom (K mode) is described in terms of the Langevin equation in the overdamped regime. The effect of the orientation degree of freedom on the rate and mean time of fission of compound nuclei is studied. The introduction of the orientation degree of freedom is shown to lead to a substantial decrease in the fission rate and, accordingly, to an increase in the mean fission time upon going over from the three- to the four-dimensional model. The reactions induced by the interaction of ¹⁴N and ¹⁶O projectile ions with ¹⁹⁷Au, ²⁰⁸Pb, ²³²Th, and ²³⁸U nuclei at energies above the Coulomb fusion barrier are considered. The effect of the increase in the fission time because of the introduction of the K mode is so strong that it compensates almost completely for an opposite effect from introducing, in the one-dimensional model, the second and third collective coordinates that take into account, respectively, the evolution of the neck in the nuclear shape and the mass asymmetry. Ultimately, the difference between the results in the four- and one dimensional problems is not more than 5 to 25% for the reactions considered here.     

Mass Distributions and Charge Dispersion for the Nuclear Fission

The theory of nuclear fission is reconsidered by introducing the charge asymmetry in the asymmetric two center shell model as a dynamical collective coordinate. The quantum mechanical fluctuations, which are accompanied with the collective motion as a function of the mass asymmetry, are responsible for the mass distributions in nuclear fission. Numerical calculations are carried out for the mass distributions and charge dispersions for the nuclear fission of the ²³⁶U and ²³⁸U nuclei. The present obtained theoretical calculations are in good agreement with the experimental measurements.     

Electromagnetic and nuclear fission of238U in the reaction of 100, 500, and 1000 A·MeV208Pb with238U

The folding- and azimuthal-angle and velocity distributions for the²³⁸U fission fragments have been measured in reactions with 100, 500, and 1000 A·MeV²⁰⁸Pb. These distributions were used to decompose the fission cross section into its electromagnetic and nuclear components. The fraction of electromagnetic fission was found to be 0.16±0.07, 0.48±0.08, and 0.60±0.04, respectively. The electromagnetic fission cross section as a function of the²⁰⁸Pb nucleus energy is compared with theoretical predictions. The measured fission cross section from nuclear reactions (≈1.5 b) is approximately constant between 100 and 1000 A·MeV.     

Fission and the ion-ion interaction

A fission theory based on a preformation probability and the decay of the daughter pair through their associated ion-ion potential is presented. The preformation probability is estimated to be 10⁻⁵. The nuclear component of ion-ion potential is determined in a sudden approximation by superposing the ground state densities of the daughter pair and is found to be 60–70 MeV deep. Using observed kinetic energies, absolute lifetimes are calculated for both symmetric and asymmetric fission of U²³⁴, Pu²⁴⁰, Cm²⁴⁴, and Cf²⁴⁸ with good results. In addition, the absolute lifetimes associated with the decay of Pu²⁴⁰ into a series of other modes are presented. The relevance of this theory to the isotopic dependence of lifetimes, prompt neutron fission, and subthreshold fission is discussed in qualitative terms. Thus the nuclear fission seems to be a sudden process.     

Penetrability of nuclear fission barrier for muonic atoms

The nuclear fission penetrability for muonic atoms is calculated as a function of excitation energy. The results obtained for ^234,236,238U and ²⁴⁰Pu are compared with the fission of normal atoms.     

Fission time in the 28Si + natPt reaction

The experimental fission times are analyzed for excited nuclei produced in the ²⁸Si + ^natPt reaction. Experimental lifetimes obtained by the crystal-blocking technique range between 10^?17 and 10^?18 s at bombarding energies between 140 and 170 MeV, respectively. Experimental data are analyzed within the statistical theory of nuclear reactions and the double-humped-fission-barrier model with allowance for preequilibrium processes and the nuclear-dissipation phenomenon. It is shown that fission barriers retain their double-humped structure for nuclear temperatures up to about 1.7–1.8 MeV and that the lifetimes of excited strongly deformed states in the second potential well contribute substantially to the observed delay times in the fission decay channel.     

Fission of 232Th, 238U and 235U induced by negative muons

The absolute yields of prompt and delayed fission induced by negative muons in ²³²Th, ²³⁸U and ²³⁵U have been measured. The delayed fission yields are much lower than could be predicted from Γ_n/Γ_f systematics for 15–20 MeV nuclear excitation. The systematics of prompt fission yields are compared with recently obtained photofission data. It is suggested that prompt fission can be used for investigating the channel structure of the fission barrier.     

Study of mass spectra of light-actinide fission isotopes Kr and Xe in the framework of a new statistical approach

Results on light-actinide fission fragments Kr and Xe yields calculated within the framework of a new statistical approach are presented. The proposed statistical method is derived from the equilibrium condition of the ensemble of all possible fission fragments. Using ²³⁷Np isotope as an example, we investigate the influence of excitation energy (nuclear temperature) and nuclear particle emission on the formation of mass fission channels. The results obtained are compared with the experimental data on Kr and Xe isotope yields at the fission of Th, U, Np, and Pu.     

Influence of nuclear dissipation on fission dynamics of the excited nucleus <Superscript>248</Superscript>Cf within a stochastic approach

A stochastic approach to fission dynamics based on two-dimensional Langevin equations was applied to calculate the anisotropy of the fission fragments angular distribution and average pre-scission neutron multiplicities for the compound nucleus ²⁴⁸Cf formed in the ¹⁶O+²³²Th reactions. Postsaddle nuclear dissipation strength of (12–14) × 10²¹ s^?1 was extracted for Cf nucleus by fitting the results of calculations with the experimental data. Furthermore, it was found that the results of calculations for the anisotropy of the fission fragments angular distribution and pre-scission neutron multiplicities are very sensitive to the magnitude of post-saddle nuclear dissipation.     

New indications of collinear tripartition in 252Cf(sf) studied at the modified FOBOS setup

An attempt has been made to search for collinear tripartition in spontaneous fission of ²⁵²Cf by using the FOBOS setup coupled with the neutron detector belt. A group of rare events were detected characterized by reduced total kinetic energy and total nuclear charge gated by the large neutron multiplicity measured. This fact is considered to be an experimental indication of collinear tripartition in ²⁵²Cf. The theoretical indication of the possible existence of the collinear cluster tripartition valley was obtained for the first time.     

Fission yields at different fission-product kinetic energies for thermal-neutron-induced fission of 239Pu

At the recoil spectrometer “Lohengrin” of the Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble, the yields of the light fission products from the thermal-neutron-induced fission of ²³⁹Pu were measured as a function of A, Z, the kinetic energy E and the ionic charge states q. The nuclear charge and mass distributions summed over all ionic charge states were determined for different light fissionproduct kinetic energies between 93 and 112 MeV. The proton odd-even effect which was measured to be (11.6 ± 0.6)% causes considerable fine structure in the yields. The average kinetic energy of even-Z elements in the light fission-product group is 0.3 ± 0.1 MeV larger than for odd-Z elements. The neutron odd-even effect is (6.5 ± 0.7)%. The comparison with previously published data ¹) for thermal-neutron-induced fission of ²³⁵U reveals a correlation between the proton odd-even effect in the yield and in the kinetic energy of the elements. The dependence of the proton odd-even effect on the fragmentation is very similar for ²³⁵U and ²³⁹Pu when it is considered as a function of the nuclear charge of the heavy fission products. The isobaric variances σ_z². for thermal-neutron fission of ²³⁵U and ²³⁹Pu coincide at all kinetic energies if the influence of the proton odd-even effect is averaged out. This supports the hypothesis that the magnitude of σ_z² is determined only by quantum-mechanical zero-point fluctuations. The influence of the spherical shells Z = 50 and N = 82 on the fragmentation is discussed.