Multi-modal fission in collinear ternary cluster decay of 252Cf(sf, fff)

We discuss the multiple decay modes of collinear fission in 252Cf(sf, fff), with three fragments as suggested by the potential energy surface (PES). Fission as a statistical decay is governed by the phase space of the different decay channels, which are suggested in the PES-landscape. The population of the fission modes is determined by the minima in the PES at the scission points and on the internal potential barriers. The ternary collinear decay proceeds as a sequential process, in two steps. The originally observed ternary decay of 252Cf(sf) into three different masses (e.g. 132–140Sn, 52–48Ca, 68–72Ni), observed by the FOBOS group in the FLNR (Flerov Laboratory for Nuclear Reactions) of the JINR (Dubna) the collinear cluster tripartition (CCT), is one of the ternary fission modes. This kind of “true ternary fission” of heavy nuclei has often been predicted in theoretical works during the last decades. In the present note we discuss different ternary fission modes in the same system. The PES shows pronounced minima, which correspond to several modes of ternary fragmentations. These decays have very similar dynamical features as the previously observed CCT-decays. The data obtained in the experiments on CCT allow us to extract the yields for different decay modes using specific gates on the measured parameters, and to establish multiple modes of the ternary fission decay. Keywords: Fission, Potential energy surfaces, Ternary fission, Multi-modal fission