Fission and Particle Decay of Cold Compound Nuclei with High Angular Momentum

Abstract

We have measured fission and particle-evaporation cross sections for the nuclei $^{170\ensuremath{-}188}\mathrm{Pt}$ formed with the reactions $^{58,64}\mathrm{Ni}$ + $^{112\ensuremath{-}124}\mathrm{Sn}$. This represents the first systematic study of the decay of compound nuclei formed with heavy projectiles (${A}_{\mathrm{proj}}\ensuremath{\gtrsim}\frac{1}{2}{A}_{\mathrm{target}}$), and thus endowed with large angular momenta at relatively low excitation energies. Using a statistical model and a single set of input parameters, we have reproduced all the data.