The 6He emission accompanying the spontaneous fission of 252Cf

The results of a multiparameter investigation of the ⁶He emission accompanying the spontaneous fission of ²⁵²Cf are presented. The energy spectrum and the yield of the ⁶He particles are found to be in accord with previous measurements, but their angular distribution is observed to be narrower at 13° ± 3° (FWHM) than the value of ? 32° deduced in a previous investigation.Comparisons of the experimental with published calculated energy spectra and angular distributions for ³H, ⁴He and ⁶He particles are shown to provide evidence for a compact scission configuration in ternary fission.