Eur. Phys. J. A (2011) 47: 37
https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/i2011-11037-0

Regular Article - Experimental Physics

Mass-yield distribution of fission products from photo-fission of ^natPb induced by 2.5 GeV bremsstrahlung

¹ Radiochemistry Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, 400085, Trombay, Mumbai, India
² Nuclear Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, 400085, Trombay, Mumbai, India
³ Reactor Physics Design Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, 400085, Trombay, Mumbai, India
⁴ Department of Physics, Kyungpook National University, 702-701, Daegu, Republic of Korea
⁵ Department of Physics, Pohang University of Science and Technology, 790-784, Pohang, Republic of Korea

Received: 18 May 2010
Accepted: 9 February 2011
Published online: 15 March 2011

Abstract

The mass-yield distribution of fission products in the 2.5GeV bremsstrahlung-induced fission of ^natPb has been measured by using a recoil catcher and an off-line -ray spectrometric technique in the 2.5GeV electron linac at the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory. The determination of mass-yield distribution involves measurement of cumulative yields of 27 fission products and independent yields of 15 fission products in the photo-fission of ^natPb . It was found that the mass-yield distribution of fission products in ^natPb is symmetric with an average mass of 94±0.5 and a full-width at half-maximum of 55±2.0 mass units. The present data along with the literature data in the 50-85MeV bremsstrahlung-induced fission of ^natPb and ²⁰⁹Bi as well as the data at 2.5GeV for ²⁰⁹Bi show that the average mass of the mass-yield distributions in the bremsstrahlung-induced fission of ^natPb and ²⁰⁹Bi decreases from 102.63±0.51 at 50-85MeV to 94.5±0.5 at 2.5GeV. The full-width at half-maximum of the mass-yield distribution increases from about 21.5±1.44 mass units at 50-85MeV to 53±2 mass units at 2.5GeV. These observations in the 50MeV to 2.5GeV bremsstrahlung-induced fission of ^natPb and ²⁰⁹Bi have been explained from the point of view of increase in multi-chance fission probability with increasing excitation energy. The role of the fissility parameter (Z _F ²/A _F) on the full-width at half-maximum is also discussed.