Review on the progress in nuclear fission-experimental methods and theoretical descriptions

An overview is given on some of the main advances in the experimental methods, experimental results, theoretical models and ideas of the last few years in the field of nuclear fission. New approaches have considerably extended the availability of fissioning systems for the experimental study of nuclear fission, and have provided a full identification of all fission products in A and Z for the first time. In particular, the transition from symmetric to asymmetric fission around ²²⁶Th, some unexpected structures in the mass distributions in the fission of systems around Z  =  80-84, and an extended systematics of the odd-even effect in the fission fragment Z distributions have all been measured (Andreyev et al 2018 Rep. Prog. Phys. 81 016301). Three classes of model descriptions of fission presently appear to be the most promising or the most successful. Self-consistent quantum-mechanical models fully consider the quantum-mechanical features of the fission process. Intense efforts are presently being made to develop suitable theoretical tools (Schunck and Robledo 2016 Rep. Prog. Phys. 79 116301) for modeling the non-equilibrium, large-amplitude collective motion leading to fission. Stochastic models provide a fully developed technical framework. The main features of the fission-fragment mass distribution have been well reproduced from mercury to fermium and beyond (Möller and Randrup 2015 Phys. Rev. C 91 044316). However, limited computer resources still impose restrictions, for example, on the number of collective coordinates and on an elaborate description of the fission dynamics. In an alternative semi-empirical approach (Schmidt et al 2016 Nucl. Data Sheets 131 107), considerable progress in describing the fission observables has been achieved by combining several theoretical ideas, which are essentially well known. This approach exploits (i) the topological properties of a continuous function in multidimensional space, (ii) the separability of the influence of fragment shells and the macroscopic properties of the compound nucleus, (iii) the properties of a quantum oscillator coupled to a heat bath of other nuclear degrees of freedom, (iv) an early freeze-out of collective motion, and (v) the application of statistical mechanics for describing the thermalization of intrinsic excitations in the nascent fragments. This new approach reveals a high degree of regularity and allows the calculation of high-quality data that is relevant to nuclear technology without specifically adjusting the empirical data of individual systems.

Studying fission neutrons with 2E-2v and 2E

This work aims at measuring prompt-fission neutrons at different excitation energies of the nucleus. Two independent techniques, the 2E-2v and the 2E techniques, are used to map the characteristics of the mass-dependent prompt fission neutron multiplicity, v(A), when the excitation energy is increased.

The VERDI 2E-2v spectrometer is being developed at JRC-GEEL. The Fission Fragment (FF) energies are measured using two arrays of 16 silicon (Si) detectors each. The FFs velocities are obtained by time-of-flight, measured between micro-channel plates (MCP) and Si detectors. With MCPs placed on both sides of the fission source, VERDI allows for independent timing measurements for both fragments. 252Cf(sf) was measured and the present results revealed particular features of the 2E-2v technique. Dedicated simulations were also performed using the GEF code to study important aspects of the 2E-2v technique. Our simulations show that prompt neutron emission has a non-negligible impact on the deduced fragment data and affects also the shape of v(A). Geometrical constraints lead to a total-kinetic energy-dependent detection efficiency.

The 2E technique utilizes an ionization chamber together with two liquid scintillator detectors. Two measurements have been performed, one of 252Cf(sf) and another one of thermal-neutron induced fission in 235U(n,f). Results from 252Cf(sf) are reported here.

Recent developments of the FALSTAFF experimental setup

The study of nuclear fission is encountering renewed interest with the development of GEN-IV reactor concepts, mostly working in the neutron fast energy domain. To support the fast reactor technologies, new high quality nuclear data are needed. New facilities are being constructed to produce high intensity neutron beams from hundreds of keV to few tens of MeV (Licorne, NFS, nELBE, ...). They will open new opportunities to provide nuclear data. In this framework the development of an experimental setup called FALSTAFF for a characterisation of actinide fission fragments has been undertaken. Fission fragment yields and associated neutron multiplicities will be measured as a function of the neutron energy. Based on time-of-flight and residual energy technique, the setup will allow the simultaneous measurement of the complementary fragment velocity and energy. The FALSTAFF setup and the upgrade of the first arm prototype with the new ionisation chamber CALIBER will be presented. The performances of the experimental apparatus is discussed.