α-accompanied cold ternary fission of ${}^{238–244}\mathrm{Pu}$ isotopes in equatorial and collinear configuration

The cold ternary fission of ${}^{238}\mathrm{Pu}$, ${}^{240}\mathrm{Pu}$, ${}^{242}\mathrm{Pu}$, and ${}^{244}\mathrm{Pu}$ isotopes, with ${}^4\mathrm{He}$ as light charged particle, in equatorial and collinear configuration has been studied within the unified ternary fission model. The fragment combination ${}^{100}\mathrm{Zr}+{}^4\mathrm{He}+{}^{134}\mathrm{Te}$ possessing the near doubly magic nuclei ${}^{134}\mathrm{Te}(N=82,Z=52)$ gives the highest yield in the α-accompanied ternary fission of ${}^{238}\mathrm{Pu}$. For the α-accompanied ternary fission of ${}^{240}\mathrm{Pu}$, ${}^{242}\mathrm{Pu}$, and ${}^{244}\mathrm{Pu}$ isotopes, the highest yield was found for the fragment combination with doubly magic nuclei ${}^{132}\mathrm{Sn}(N=82,Z=50)$ as the heavier fragment. The deformation and orientation of fragments have also been taken into account for the α-accompanied ternary fission of ${}^{238–244}\mathrm{Pu}$ isotopes, and it has been found that, in addition to the closed-shell effect, ground-state deformation also plays an important role in determining the isotopic yield in the ternary fission process. The emission probability and kinetic energy of long-range α particles have been calculated and are found to be in good agreement with the experimental data.

Figure 1

The touching configuration of three spherical fragments in (a) equatorial configuration and (b) collinear configuration.

Figure 2

The driving potential for the ${}^{238}\mathrm{Pu}$ isotope with ${}^4\mathrm{He}$ as the LCP with the inclusion of quadrupole deformation ${\beta }_2$ and for different orientation plotted as a function of mass number $A_1$.

Figure 3

The calculated yield for the charge-minimized third fragment ${}^4\mathrm{He}$ is plotted as a function of fragment mass numbers $A_1$ and $A_2$ for the ternary fission of the ${}^{238–244}\mathrm{Pu}$ isotopes.

Figure 4

The driving potential for the ${}^{240}\mathrm{Pu}$ isotope with ${}^4\mathrm{He}$ as the LCP with the inclusion of quadrupole deformation ${\beta }_2$ and for different orientations plotted as a function of mass number $A_1$.

Figure 5

The driving potential for the ${}^{242}\mathrm{Pu}$ isotope with ${}^4\mathrm{He}$ as the LCP with the inclusion of quadrupole deformation ${\beta }_2$ and for different orientations plotted as a function of mass number $A_1$.

Figure 6

The driving potential for the ${}^{244}\mathrm{Pu}$ isotope with ${}^4\mathrm{He}$ as the LCP with the inclusion of quadrupole deformation ${\beta }_2$ and for different orientations plotted as a function of mass number $A_1$.

Figure 7

The driving potential for the ${}^{238–244}\mathrm{Pu}$ isotope with ${}^4\mathrm{He}$ as the LCP in the case of collinear configuration plotted as a function of mass number $A_1$.

Figure 8

The calculated yields for the ternary fission of the ${}^{238–244}\mathrm{Pu}$ isotopes with a charge-minimized second fragment ${}^4\mathrm{He}$ in the case of collinear configuration plotted as a function of mass numbers $A_1$ and $A_3$. The fragment combinations with the highest yield are labeled.

Figure 9

The calculated yields for the charge-minimized third fragment ${}^4\mathrm{He}$ with the inclusion of quadrupole deformation ${\beta }_2$ plotted as a function of mass numbers $A_1$ and $A_2$ for the ${}^{238–244}\mathrm{Pu}$ isotopes. The fragment combinations with higher yields are labeled.

Figure 10

The calculated yields for the charge-minimized third fragment ${}^4\mathrm{He}$ with the inclusion of quadrupole deformation ${\beta }_2$ plotted as a function of mass numbers $A_1$ and $A_2$ for the ${}^{238}\mathrm{Pu}$ isotope. The fragment combinations with higher yields are labeled.

Figure 11

The calculated yields for the charge-minimized third fragment ${}^4\mathrm{He}$ with the inclusion of quadrupole deformation ${\beta }_2$ plotted as a function of mass numbers $A_1$ and $A_2$ for the ${}^{240}\mathrm{Pu}$ isotope. The fragment combinations with higher yields are labeled.

Figure 12

The calculated yields for the charge-minimized third fragment ${}^4\mathrm{He}$ with the inclusion of quadrupole deformation ${\beta }_2$ plotted as a function of mass numbers $A_1$ and $A_2$ for the ${}^{242}\mathrm{Pu}$ isotope. The fragment combinations with higher yields are labeled.

Figure 13

The calculated yields for the charge-minimized third fragment ${}^4\mathrm{He}$ with the inclusion of quadrupole deformation ${\beta }_2$ plotted as a function of mass numbers $A_1$ and $A_2$ for the ${}^{244}\mathrm{Pu}$ isotope. The fragment combinations with higher yields are labeled.