Two-mode fission – experimental verification and characterization of two fission-modes

Experimental verification and characterization of the two-mode fission are reviewed. The presence of two independent deformation-paths in low energy fission of actinides is demonstrated by studying correlation among saddle-point configurations, scission-point configurations, and mass-yield distributions; the elongated scission configuration is related with the fission process that goes over a higher threshold energy and results in a symmetric mass-division mode, while the compact scission configuration with the process that experiences a lower threshold ends up with an asymmetric mass-division mode. Based on an extensive systematic analysis of scission properties in a wide range of actinide fission, the bimodal fission observed in the spontaneous fission of the heavy actinides is interpreted as the result of the presence of two fission paths, namely, the ordinary asymmetric fission path and a strongly shell-influenced symmetric mode.