Origin of the dramatic change of fission mode in fermium isotopes investigated using Langevin equations

The fission of even-even fermium nuclides Fm250-260 at low excitation energy was studied using Langevin equations of three-dimensional nuclear-shape parametrization. The mass distributions of fission fragments show a dramatic change from an asymmetric shape for the lighter fermium isotopes to sharp symmetric fission for the heavier isotopes. The time evolution of the nuclear shape on the potential surface reveals that the lighter fermium isotopes showing asymmetric fission are trapped in the second minimum for a substantial length of time before overcoming the second saddle point. This behavior changes dramatically for the compact symmetric fission found in the heavier neutron-rich fermium nuclei that disintegrate immediately after overcoming the first saddle point, without feeling the second barrier, resulting in a fission time two orders of magnitude shorter.