https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/i2007-10367-8
Regular Article - Nuclear Structure and Reactions
Indication for hyperdeformed cluster states in 233Th
1
Helmholtz-Institut für Strahlen- und Kernphysik, Universität Bonn, D-53115, Bonn, Germany
2
Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Institut für Kernphysik, D-76021, Karlsruhe, Germany
Received:
17
January
2007
Accepted:
17
April
2007
Published online:
22
May
2007
Abstract.: An activation technique was used to investigate relative yields of fission products from the reaction 232Th(n, f ) for neutron energies between 1.3 and 1.8MeV covering the region around the first hyperdeformed resonances. Intensities of characteristic γ-ray transitions were analyzed to search for changes in the mass distribution for neutron energies corresponding to the resonances and below the resonances. Relative increases in yield between 7 and 23% are observed for A ≈ 100 and 132 in the resonance region around 1.6MeV. It is proposed that the yield enhancement of daughter nuclei of the preformed fragments 132Sn and 101Zr arises from cold fission of a di-cluster configuration. The experimental results support theoretical predictions for the existence of hyperdeformed octupole shapes based on the di-nuclear configuration 132Sn + 101Zr.
PACS: 25.85.Ec Neutron-induced fission – / 24.30.-v Resonance reactions – / 27.90.+b 220≤A –
© Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag 2007