Revealing hidden regularities with a general approach to fission

Abstract

Selected aspects of a general approach to nuclear fission are described with the focus on the possible benefit of meeting the increasing need of nuclear data for the existing and future emerging nuclear applications. The most prominent features of this approach are the evolution of quantum-mechanical wave functions in systems with complex shape, memory effects in the dynamics of stochastic processes, the influence of the Second Law of thermodynamics on the evolution of open systems in terms of statistical mechanics, and the topological properties of a continuous function in multi-dimensional space. It is demonstrated that this approach allows reproducing the measured fission barriers and the observed properties of the fission fragments and prompt neutrons. Our approach is based on sound physical concepts, as demonstrated by the fact that practically all the parameters have a physical meaning, and reveals a high degree of regularity in the fission observables. Therefore, we expect a good predictive power within the region extending from Po isotopes to Sg isotopes where the model parameters have been adjusted. Our approach can be extended to other regions provided that there is enough empirical information available that allows determining appropriate values of the model parameters. Possibilities for combining this general approach with microscopic models are suggested. These are supposed to enhance the predictive power of the general approach and to help improving or adjusting the microscopic models. This could be a way to overcome the present difficulties for producing evaluations with the required accuracy.