Nonaxial hexadecapole deformation effects on the fission barrier

Fission barrier of the heavy nucleus 250Cf is analyzed in a multi-dimensional deformation space. This space includes two quadrupole (e2,γ) and three hexadecapole deformation (e40,e42,e44) parameters. The analysis is performed within an unpaired macroscopic–microscopic approach. Special attention is given to the effects of the axial and non-axial hexadecapole deformation shapes. It is found that the inclusion of the nonaxial hexadecapole shapes does not change the fission barrier heights, so it should be sufficient to minimize the energy in only one degree of freedom in the hexadecapole space e4. The role of hexadecapole deformation parameters is also discussed on the Lublin–Strasbourg drop (LSD) macroscopic and the Strutinsky shell energies.