The dependence of fission time-scales on fragment mass asymmetry in the 20Ne+165Ho reaction at 50A MeV

The pre-scission and post-scission multiplicities of alpha particles were determined in coincidence with fission fragments for four windows of exit channel mass asymmetry in the reaction 20Ne+165Ho at 50A MeV. The technique used employed a kinematic analysis of the energy spectra of alpha particles as a function of the emission angle with respect to the fission axis. Using a procedure of fitting the experimental energy spectra with those resulting from a Monte Carlo simulation program, the total multiplicity of alpha particles was separated into pre-scission and post-scission components. Using the pre-scission and post-scission multiplicities, neutron multiplicity measurements and other empirical observations, both the initial excitation energy and the excitation energy at scission of the compound nucleus were determined. The pre-scission times in the de-excitation of a highly excited 178W compound nucleus with initial excitation energy of 570 MeV were evaluated using statistical model calculations. Only a small decrease in scission time was derived for the most asymmetric events studied. The possible contribution of very damped deep inelastic processes is discussed. (orig.)