https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202023903004
Validating the Bohr hypothesis: Comparing fission-product yields from photon-induced fission of 240Pu and neutron-induced fission of Pu
1 Nuclear and Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
2 Duke University, Department of Physics, Box 90308, Durham, NC 27708-0308, USA
3 Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory, Durham, NC 27708, USA
* e-mail: silano1@llnl.gov
Published online: 30 September 2020
The Bohr hypothesis, one of the most fundamental assumptions in nuclear fission theory, states that the decay of a compound nucleus with a given excitation energy, spin and parity is independent of its formation. Using fission product yields (FPYs) as a sensitive probe, we have performed new high precision test of the combined effects of the entrance channel, spin and parity on the fission process. Two different reactions were used in a self-consistent manner to produce a compound 240Pu nucleus with the same excitation energy: neutron induced fission of 239Pu at En = 4.6 MeV and photon-induced fission of 240Pu at Eγ = 11.2 MeV. The FPYs from these two reactions were measured using quasimonoenergetic neutron beams from the TUNL's FN tandem Van de Graaff accelerator and quasimonenergetic photon beams from the High Intensity γ-ray Source (HlγS) facility. The first results comparing the FPYs from these two reactions will be presented. Implications for validating the Bohr hypothesis will be discussed.
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2020
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
