Microscopic study of 240Pu, mean-field and beyond

The influence of exact angular-momentum projection and configuration mixing on properties of a heavy, well-deformed nucleus is discussed for the example of Pu240. Starting from a self-consistent model using Skyrme interactions, we analyze the resulting modifications of the deformation energy, the fission barrier height, the excitation energy of the superdeformed minimum associated with the fission isomer, the structure of the lowest rotational bands with normal deformation and superdeformation, and the corresponding quadrupole moments and transition moments. We present results obtained with the Skyrme interactions SLy4 and SLy6, which have slightly different surface tensions.Comment: 7 pages REVTEX4, 4 figures. accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

The 1994 TIMS airborne calibration experiment: Castaic Lake, California

This summary describes the 9 March 1994 Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) airborne calibration experiment conducted at Castaic Lake, California. This experiment was a collaborative effort between the TIMS and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) science teams at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). TIMS was flown on the NASA/Ames Research Center C130 with the new retractable air fence installed in the TIMS instrument bay. The purpose of this experiment was to determine if the fence would reduce the air turbulence in the TIMS instrument bay, thereby reducing the errors in calibration caused by wind-blast cooling of the blackbody reference sources internal to TIMS. Previous experiments have indicated that the wind blast effect could cause TIMS to over-estimate surface temperatures by more than 10 C. We have examined the TIMS data from twelve lines flown over Castaic Lake. Four of the lines were flown at an altitude of approximately 2.5 km (MSL), four at an altitude of approximately 6.7 km, and four at approximately 8.3 km. At each altitude there were flights with northern and southern headings, with the aircraft level and at a positive pitch (nose-up attitude). The suite of twelve flights was designed to subject the TIMS/air fence system to different wind conditions and air temperatures. The TIMS flights were supported by a ground-truth team, who measured lake surface temperatures from a boat, and an atmosphere characterization team, who launched an airsonde and measured solar irradiance with a Reagan Sun Photometer. The Reagan measurements were used to construct a time-series of estimates of the total abundance of water vapor in the atmospheric column. These estimates were used to constrain modifications of the airsonde water vapor profile measurements made when processing the TIMS data with a customized version of the MODTRAN radiative transfer code

An evaporation-based model of thermal neutron induced ternary fission of plutonium

Ternary fission probabilities for thermal neutron induced fission of plutonium are analyzed within the framework of an evaporation-based model where the complexity of time-varying potentials, associated with the neck collapse, are included in a simplistic fashion. If the nuclear temperature at scission and the fission-neck-collapse time are assumed to be ~1.2 MeV and ~10^-22 s, respectively, then calculated relative probabilities of ternary-fission light-charged-particle emission follow the trends seen in the experimental data. The ability of this model to reproduce ternary fission probabilities spanning seven orders of magnitude for a wide range of light-particle charges and masses implies that ternary fission is caused by the coupling of an evaporation-like process with the rapid re-arrangement of the nuclear fluid following scission.Comment: 25 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in IJMP

The contrasting fission potential-energy structure of actinides and mercury isotopes

Fission-fragment mass distributions are asymmetric in fission of typical actinide nuclei for nucleon number $A$ in the range $228 \lnsim A \lnsim 258$ and proton number $Z$ in the range $90\lnsim Z \lnsim 100$. For somewhat lighter systems it has been observed that fission mass distributions are usually symmetric. However, a recent experiment showed that fission of $^{180}$Hg following electron capture on $^{180}$Tl is asymmetric. We calculate potential-energy surfaces for a typical actinide nucleus and for 12 even isotopes in the range $^{178}$Hg--$^{200}$Hg, to investigate the similarities and differences of actinide compared to mercury potential surfaces and to what extent fission-fragment properties, in particular shell structure, relate to the structure of the static potential-energy surfaces. Potential-energy surfaces are calculated in the macroscopic-microscopic approach as functions of fiveshape coordinates for more than five million shapes. The structure of the surfaces are investigated by use of an immersion technique. We determine properties of minima, saddle points, valleys, and ridges between valleys in the 5D shape-coordinate space. Along the mercury isotope chain the barrier heights and the ridge heights and persistence with elongation vary significantly and show no obvious connection to possible fragment shell structure, in contrast to the actinide region, where there is a deep asymmetric valley extending from the saddle point to scission. The mechanism of asymmetric fission must be very different in the lighter proton-rich mercury isotopes compared to the actinide region and is apparently unrelated to fragment shell structure. Isotopes lighter than $^{192}$Hg have the saddle point blocked from a deep symmetric valley by a significant ridge. The ridge vanishes for the heavier Hg isotopes, for which we would expect a qualitatively different asymmetry of the fragments.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure

Time-dependent approach to many-particle tunneling in one-dimension

Employing the time-dependent approach, we investigate a quantum tunneling decay of many-particle systems. We apply it to a one-dimensional three-body problem with a heavy core nucleus and two valence protons. We calculate the decay width for two-proton emission from the survival probability, which well obeys the exponential decay-law after a sufficient time. The effect of the correlation between the two emitted protons is also studied by observing the time evolution of the two-particle density distribution. It is shown that the pairing correlation significantly enhances the probability for the simultaneous diproton decay.Comment: 9 pages, 10 eps figure

Emission of charged particles from excited compound nuclei

The formation of excited compound nucleus (CN) and its statistical decay is investigated within the dinuclear system (DNS) model.The initial DNS is formed in the entrance channel when the projectile is captured by a target, and then the evolution of DNS in mass asymmetry coordinate leads to formation of the hot CN. The emission barriers for complex fragments were calculated within the DNS model by using the double folding procedure for the interaction potential. It is shown that cross sections for complex fragment emission become larger when excited CN is more neutron deficient. This approach gives also an opportunity to calculate the new neutron deficient isotopes production cross sections and can be applied to describe the hot fission of heavy systems.The model was tested by comparison of calculated results with experimental dat