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Five-dimensional fission-barrier calculations from 70Se to 252Cf
Peter Möller1, Arnold J Sierk, Akira Iwamoto
1Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA. moller@moller.lanl.gov
Physical Review Letters
|March 5, 2004
Summary
This study calculates nuclear fission barrier heights across the periodic table using a refined macroscopic-microscopic model. The method ensures accurate potential energy surfaces for predicting both fission barriers and ground-state masses.
Area of Science:
- Nuclear Physics
- Computational Physics
Background:
- Accurate prediction of nuclear fission properties is crucial for understanding nuclear reactions and stability.
- Existing models face challenges in precisely defining the fission potential energy landscape and identifying key saddle points.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and apply a robust macroscopic-microscopic model for calculating fission barrier heights.
- To provide comprehensive predictions of ground-state masses and fission barriers for nuclei across the periodic table.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a realistic macroscopic-microscopic model with a high-dimensional deformation space.
- Employed dense sampling to accurately map the fission potential energy topography.
- Ensured continuity of potential energy at the point of nuclear division.
Main Results:
- Successfully calculated fission barrier heights for a wide range of nuclei.
- Demonstrated the model's capability to accurately predict ground-state nuclear masses.
- Identified physically relevant saddle points in the fission potential energy landscape.
Conclusions:
- The refined model provides accurate fission barrier heights and ground-state masses.
- The methodology offers a continuous description of potential energy surfaces, crucial for fission dynamics.
- This work advances the predictive power of nuclear models for various nuclei.