Systematics of fission cross sections in the MeV range

Twenty-nine years ago J. W. Behrens published a paper on the systematics of fission cross sections (3-5 MeV average). His study included 57 isotopes of elements ranging from radium through einsteinium (Z = 88 to 99). A systematic trend was seen for the element range from protactinium through curium. For a given element, the fission cross section decreased as the A-number increased. Fission cross sections are considerably more accurate now than those available in 1980. The current study represents an update of the Behrens study. Data for 11 elements and 53 nuclides were used. Trends for both the (Z, A) variation and the (2Z-N) correlation are demonstrated. The current study clearly shows that the trends are quite well represented by straight lines. The trend for the fission cross sections of a given element to decrease with increasing A-number is observed for values of A < 248. For A > 248 there is a trend for the fission cross section to increase with increasing A-number. (authors)