Muon-induced fission as a probe of the underlying dynamics in nuclear fission

TL;DR

This paper explores how muon-induced fission can serve as a sensitive probe to understand the dynamics of nuclear fission, including timescales and charge asymmetry, through relativistic calculations.

Contribution

It introduces a relativistic 3D computational approach to study muon attachment probabilities in fission, revealing their dependence on fission dynamics.

Findings

Muon attachment probability strongly depends on charge asymmetry.

Fission friction has a modest effect on muon attachment.

Relativistic 3D calculations provide detailed insights into fission dynamics.

Abstract

Muon-induced fission could be utilized as a probe to study the underlying dynamics of nuclear fission. The probability of muon attachment to the light asymmetric fission fragment is sensitive to fission dynamics, such as the timescale and friction of the fission event, charge asymmetry, and possibly the shape of the fission fragments. We focus on muonic atoms that are formed with actinide nuclei. A relativistic approach is employed, solving the Dirac equation for the muonic wavefunction in the presence of a time-dependent electromagnetic field generated by the fissioning nucleus. Computations are carried out on a 3-D Cartesian lattice with no symmetry assumptions. The results show a strong dependence of the attachment probability on the fission charge asymmetry and a more modest dependence on friction.