Beta-delayed fission in the coupled Quasi-particle Random Phase Approximation plus Hauser-Feshbach approach
Abstract
Beta-delayed neutron emission and β-delayed fission (βdf) probabilities were calculated for heavy, neutron-rich nuclei using the Los Alamos coupled Quasi-Particle Random Phase Approximation plus Hauser-Feshbach (QRPA+HF) approach. In this model, the compound nucleus is initially populated by β-decay and is followed through subsequent statistical decays taking into account competition between neutrons, γ-rays and fission. The primary output of these calculations includes branching ratios along with neutron and γ-ray spectra. We find a relatively large region of heavy nuclides where the probability of βdf is near 100%. For a subset of nuclei near the neutron dripline, delayed neutron emission and the probability to fission are both large which leads to the possibility of multi-chance βdf (mc-βdf). We comment on prospective neutron-rich nuclei that could be probed by future experimental campaigns and provide a full table of branching ratios in ASCII format in the supplemental material for use in various applications.