Wealth of information derivable from Evaporation Residue (ER) angular momentum distributions

Understanding fusion-fission dynamics is possible by studying the fission process, or, alternatively, by studying the complementary fusion-evaporation process. Though the latter method is difficult to implement, requiring sophisticated recoil separators/spectrometers for selecting the ERs in the direction of the primary beam, it provides more clarity with better accuracy and is indispensible for probing the pre-saddle region in heavy nuclei. Super Heavy Element (SHE) search crucially depends on understanding the fusion-fission process, the choice of entrance channel and excitation energy of the Compound Nucleus (CN), ER cross-section and, more importantly, the angular momenta populated in ERs which survive fission. The measurement of ER angular momentum distributions, through coincidence technique involving large gamma multiplicity detector array and recoil separator, throws up a wealth of information such as, nuclear viscosity effects, limits of stability of ERs, shape changes at high spins, snapshot of frozen set of barriers using a single-shot experiment and indirect information about onset of quasi-fission processes. There is a paucity of experimental data with regard to angular momentum distributions in heavy nuclei due to experimental constraints. In this talk, the variety of information which could be derived through experimental ER angular momentum distributions will be elaborated with examples from work carried out at IUAC using advanced experimental facilities. (author)