235U(n, f) Independent fission product yield and isomeric ratio calculated with the statistical Hauser–Feshbach theory

Abstract

ABSTRACT We have developed a Hauser–Feshbach fission fragment decay model, HF3D, which can be applied to the statistical decay of more than 500 primary fission fragment pairs (1,000 nuclides) produced by the neutron induced fission of 235U. The HF3D model numerically integrates fission fragment yield and their initial excitation energy, spin and parity distributions for these 1,000 nuclides. The fission fragment yield Y(A) and the total kinetic energy are model inputs, and we estimate them from available experimental data for the 235U(nth,f) system. The model parameters in the statistical decay calculation are adjusted to reproduce some fission observables, such as the neutron emission multiplicity , its distribution P(ν), and the mass dependence (A). The calculated fission product yield (FPY) and isomeric ratio (IR) are compared with experimental data. The calculated independent FPY YI (A) at the thermal energy reproduces the experimental data well, while the calculated IRs tend to be lower than the Madland–England model prediction. The HF3D model is extended to higher incident neutron energies up to the second-chance fission threshold. We demonstrate for the first time that most of the IRs stay constant, although the production of isomeric state changes as the incident energy increases.