New decay modes: multicluster spontaneous emission from nuclei

The possibility of a whole family of new decay modes, multi-cluster accompanied fission, is envisaged. A heavy or superheavy nucleus spontaneously breaks into four, five or six nuclei of which two are asymmetric or symmetric heavy fragments and the rest are light clusters like α-particles, 10Be, 14C, 20O, etc, or combinations of them. Examples are presented for the following decay modes: two-cluster (2α, α+10Be, α+14C) accompanied cold fission; three-cluster (3α, α+6He+10Be) accompanied cold fission, and four-cluster (4α) accompanied cold fission. A comparison is made with the recently observed 252Cf cold binary fission, and cold ternary (accompanied by one α-particle or by one 10Be cluster). The pronounced shell effect corresponding to the doubly magic heavy fragment 132Sn is emphasized. It is shown that the most favourable mechanism of such a decay mode should be the emission from an elongated neck formed between the two heavy fragments in the process of deformation prior to scission. (author). Letter-to-the-editor