Abstract
Annihilation of 1.2 GeV antiprotons has been explored as a means to generate high thermal excitation in heavy nuclei (U, Au, Ho) and to observe their decay with a minimal contribution from dynamical distortion. Conventional fission and heavy residue formation are found to dominate the decay up to . Both modes are increasingly accompanied by a modest emission of intermediate-mass fragments (up to 1 on average), but true multifragmentation is not observed. These features are in agreement with the predictions of the statistical model with no need for a fission delay .
- Received 23 April 1999
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.83.4959
©1999 American Physical Society