Estimating angular momenta of fission fragments from isomeric yield ratios using TALYS

Background: Angular momenta of fission fragments considerably higher than that of the fissioning nucleus have been observed in many experiments, raising the question of how these high angular momenta are generated. Wilson et al. have proposed a model for the angular momentum as a function of the mass of fission products based on the assumption that the angular momentum is generated from the collective motion of nucleons in the ruptured neck of the fissioning system. This assumption has caused a lot of debate in the community. Purpose: To estimate the angular momenta of fission fragments based on the observed isomeric yield ratios in 25 -MeV proton -induced fission of 238 U. Method: A surrogate model of the fission code general description of fission observables (GEF) has been developed to generate properties of primary fission fragments. Based on the excitation energy and angular momentum of fission fragments from GEF, an energy -versus -angular -momentum matrix is reconstructed using a set of parameters. With such matrices as input, the reaction code TALYS is used to calculate the deexcitation of the fission fragments, including the population of the isomers, from which the isomeric yield ratios are obtained. By varying one of the parameters, the root -mean -square angular momentum ( J rms ), which determines the angular momentum distribution of the matrix, J rms -dependent isomeric yield ratios are obtained. Considering all primary fission fragments contributing to the isomeric yield ratio for a given fission product, the average angular momentum of those fragments is estimated. Results: Data of 31 isomeric yield ratios in 25 -MeV proton -induced fission of 238 U were analyzed. From the analysis, the average J rms , equivalent to average angular momentum J av , with uncertainties are obtained for 24 fission products, while in seven cases no conclusive result for the angular momentum could be obtained. Furthermore, considering the neutron emissions of the primary f