Effect of potential-energy-model inaccuracies on predictions of fission-fragment mass distributions based on the Brownian shape-motion method

TL;DR

This paper investigates how inaccuracies in potential-energy models affect predictions of fission-fragment mass distributions using the Brownian shape-motion method, focusing on the sensitivity of results to potential-energy surface calculations.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the impact of potential-energy-model inaccuracies on fission fragment predictions within the BSM framework.

Findings

Potential-energy surface inaccuracies influence fission fragment predictions.

Discrepancies between model predictions and experimental data are linked to energy surface inaccuracies.

The study extends analysis to various fissioning nuclei regions.

Abstract

Moller and Randrup presented a comprehensive calculation, based on the Brownian shape motion (BSM) method, of fission-fragment charge distributions [Phys. Rev. C 91 (2015) 044316 ] which obtained that ``a new region of asymmetry'' appeared for approximately $95 \le N \le 115$ and $ 75 \le Z \le 94 $. Available experimental results at the time, except for the observation of symmetric fission of $^{187}$Ir by Itkis et al. [Yad. Fiz. 52 (1990) 944], agreed with these predictions apart for minor differences in the transition regions between predicted symmetric and asymmetric fission. It was argued [Phys. Rev. C 91 (2015) 044316 ] that the inaccurate results for $^{187}$Ir were related to inaccuracies in the calculated potential-energy surface and that such inaccuracies are related to the (in)accuracies of the calculated ground-state masses for the corresponding mass splits. We present here more detailed discussions and investigate if differences between the fission-fragment mass yields presented in [Phys. Rev. C 91 (2015) 044316 ] and experiment can occur in other regions of fissioning nuclei.