Mass, charge, and energy distributions in very asymmetric thermal fission of 235U

Abstract The fission fragment separator “Lohengrin” of the Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble was used to determine the yields of the very asymmetric light fission products ( A = 84-69) as a function of A, Z, and the kinetic energy E. The proton pairing effect causes fine structures in the mass distribution, in the mean nuclear charge − Z and its variance σZ , and in the mean kinetic energies of the elements. The neutron pairing effect in the production yields is found for the first time of the same order of magnitude than the proton pairing effect. In the mass region investigated both are the largest observed in fission of 235 U . A decrease in the mean kinetic energy for the isotopes of Ni and Cu was observed. It points to a large deformation at scission. Our results support the view that very asymmetric low-energy fission is a weakly dissipative process. The highly deformed transient system breaks by a slow necking-in process.