Deep inelastic fragment production in the 40Ca on 40Ca interaction at 278 MeV

Deep inelastic fragment production in the symmetrical reaction 40 Ca on 40 Ca has been studied at E lab = 278 MeV, high above the Coulomb barrier. Kinetic energy distributions and angular distributions have been obtained for products in the Z = 8−22 region. The two-body nature of the mechanism is discussed. Sequential decay of primary fragments is shown to be important.