The impact of neutron emission on correlated fission data from the 2E-2v method

The double-energy double-velocity (2E-2v) method allows assessing fission-fragment mass yields prior to and after prompt neutron emission with high resolution. It is, therefore, considered as a complementary technique to assess average prompt neutron multiplicity as a function of fragment properties. We have studied the intrinsic features of the 2E-2v method by means of event-wise generated fission-fragment data and found short-comings in the method itself as well as in some common practices of application. We find that the 2E-2v method leads to large deviations in the correlation between the prompt neutron multiplicity and pre-neutron mass, which deforms and exaggerates the so-called “sawtooth” shape of \(\bar{\nu}(A)\). We have identified the treatment of prompt neutron emission from the fragments as the origin of the problem. The intrinsic nature of this deficiency risks to render 2E-2v experiments less interesting. We suggest a method to correct 2E-2v data that can even be applied on existing measurements.