No Arabic abstract
Kinetic energies of light fragments A <= 10 from the decay of target spectators in 197Au 197Au collisions at 1000 MeV per nucleon have been measured with high-resolution telescopes at backward angles. Except for protons and apart from the observed evaporation components, the kinetic-energy spectra exhibit slope temperatures of about 17 MeV, independent of the particle species, but not corresponding to the thermal or chemical degrees of freedom at breakup. It is suggested that these slope temperatures may reflect the intrinsic Fermi motion and thus the bulk density of the spectator system at the instant of becoming unstable. PACS numbers: 25.70.Pq, 21.65.+f, 25.70.Mn
Fission-fragment mass and total-kinetic-energy (TKE) distributions following fission of even-even nuclides in the region $74 leq Z leq 126$ and $92 leq N leq 230$, comprising 896 nuclides have been calculated using the Brownian shape-motion method. The emphasis is the region of superheavy nuclei. To show compatibility with earlier results the calculations are extended to include earlier studied regions. An island of asymmetric fission is obtained in the superheavy region, $106leq Zleq114$ and $162leq Nleq 176$, where the heavy fragment is found to be close to $^{208}$Pb and the light fragment adjusts accordingly. Most experimentally observed $alpha$-decay chains of superheavy nuclei with $Z > 113 $ terminate by spontaneous fission in our predicted region of asymmetric fission. In these cases, the pronounced large asymmetry is accompanied by a low TKE value compatible with measurements.
Correlation functions, constructed from directional projections of the relative velocities of fragments, are used to determine the shape of the breakup volume in coordinate space. For central collisions of 129Xe + natSn at 50 MeV per nucleon incident energy, measured with the 4pi multi-detector INDRA at GSI, a prolate shape aligned along the beam direction with an axis ratio of 1:0.7 is deduced. The sensitivity of the method is discussed in comparison with conventional fragment-fragment velocity correlations.
The characteristics of intermediate mass fragments (IMFs: 3<=Z<=20) produced in mid-peripheral and central collisions are compared. We compare IMFs detected at mid-velocity with those evaporated from the excited projectile-like fragment (PLF*). On average, the IMFs produced at mid-velocity are larger in atomic number, exhibit broader transverse velocity distributions, and are more neutron-rich as compared to IMFs evaporated from the PLF*. In contrast, comparison of mid-velocity fragments associated with mid-peripheral and central collisions reveals that their characteristics are remarkably similar despite the difference in impact parameter. The characteristics of mid-velocity fragments are consistent with low-density formation of the fragments. Neutron deficient isotopes of even Z elements manifest higher kinetic energies than heavier isotopes of the same element for both PLF* and mid-velocity emission. This result may be due to the decay of long-lived excited states in the field of the emitting system.
A systematic investigation of the average multiplicities of light charged particles and intermediate mass fragments emitted in peripheral and semiperipheral collisions is presented as a function of the beam energy, violence of the collision and mass of the system. The data have been collected with the Fiasco setup in the reactions 93Nb+93Nb at 17, 23, 30, 38AMeV and 116Sn+116Sn at 30, 38AMeV. The midvelocity emission has been separated from the emission of the projectile-like fragment. This last component appears to be compatible with an evaporation from an equilibrated source at normal density, as described by the statistical code Gemini at the appropriate excitation energy. On the contrary, the midvelocity emission presents remarkable differences for what concerns both the dependence of the multiplicities on the energy deposited in the midvelocity region and the isotopic composition of the emitted light charged particles.
An electron localization measure was originally introduced to characterize chemical bond structures in molecules. Recently, a nucleon localization based on Hartree-Fock densities has been introduced to investigate $alpha$-cluster structures in light nuclei. Compared to the local nucleonic densities, the nucleon localization function has been shown to be an excellent indicator of shell effects and cluster correlations. Using the spatial nucleon localization measure, we investigate the emergence of fragments in fissioning heavy nuclei. To illustrate basic concepts of nucleon localization, we employ the self-consistent energy density functional method with a quantified energy density functional optimized for fission studies. We study the particle densities and spatial nucleon localization distributions along the fission pathways of $^{264}$Fm, $^{232}$Th and $^{240}$Pu. We demonstrate that the fission fragments are formed fairly early in the evolution, well before scission. We illustrate the usefulness of the localization measure by showing how the hyperdeformed state of $^{232}$Th can be understood in terms of a quasimolecular state made of $^{132}$Sn and $^{100}$Zr fragments. Compared to nucleonic distributions, the nucleon localization function more effectively quantifies nucleonic clustering: its characteristic oscillating pattern, traced back to shell effects, is a clear fingerprint of cluster/fragment configurations. This is of particular interest for studies of fragment formation and fragment identification in fissioning nuclei.