Fragment dependence of high energy γ-ray emission in the spontaneous fission of 252Cf

Abstract

The high energy γ-ray emission accompanying the spontaneous fission of 252Cf has been measured in coincidence with individual fission fragments selected by discrete γ-ray transitions. The enhancement of the γ-ray emission probability in the energy range Eγ= 3–8 MeV has been observed for the fission fragments in the region of nearly symmetric mass splitting, confirming results reported in previous investigations. The γ-γ coincidence technique employed in the present work clearly demonstrate that the major contribution to this enhancement is caused by the fission channels where one fragment is near to the N= 82 or Z= 50 shell closures. The high energy γ-ray emission probability does not show any significant dependence on the number of neutrons emitted in the fission process, supporting the hypothesis that high energy γ-rays are mainly emitted from the fragments after the neutron evaporation.