Effect of the orientation degree of freedom on the rate and time of fission of highly excited nuclei

The effect of the dimensionality of the dynamical model used on the fission rate and mean time is studied within a multidimensional stochastic approach to fission dynamics. These features of fission of excited compound nuclei are calculated within four-dimensional Langevin dynamics, where the coordinate K, which is the projection of the total angular momentum onto the symmetry axis of the nucleus being considered, is taken into account in addition to three collective shape coordinates introduced on the basis of the {c, h, a} parametrization. The evolution of this orientation degree of freedom (K mode) is described in terms of the Langevin equation in the overdamped regime. The effect of the orientation degree of freedom on the rate and mean time of fission of compound nuclei is studied. The introduction of the orientation degree of freedom is shown to lead to a substantial decrease in the fission rate and, accordingly, to an increase in the mean fission time upon going over from the three- to the four-dimensional model. The reactions induced by the interaction of 14N and 16O projectile ions with 197Au, 208Pb, 232Th, and 238U nuclei at energies above the Coulomb fusion barrier are considered. The effect of the increase in the fission time because of the introduction of the K mode is so strong that it compensates almost completely for an opposite effect from introducing, in the one-dimensional model, the second and third collective coordinates that take into account, respectively, the evolution of the neck in the nuclear shape and the mass asymmetry. Ultimately, the difference between the results in the four- and one dimensional problems is not more than 5 to 25% for the reactions considered here.