Muon-induced fission as a probe of the underlying dynamics in nuclear fission

Muon-induced fission may be utilized as a probe to study the underlying dynamics of nuclear fission.

In particular, the muon's attachment probability to the lighter fission fragment serves as a measure of

nuclear energy dissipation between the outer fission barrier and scission point. We focus on excited

muonic atoms that are formed when actinide nuclei capture muons, exploiting the muon's long lifetime

relative to typical fission timescales. A relativistic approach is employed, solving the Dirac equation

for a muonic spinor wavefunction in the presence of a time-dependent electromagnetic field generated by

a fissioning nucleus. Computations are carried out on a 3-D Cartesian lattice with no symmetry assumptions

and the Basis-Spline collocation method (BSCM) discretization technique is implemented.

Constrained Hartree-Fock (CHF) and density-constrained time-dependent Hartree-Fock (DC-TDHF) calculations

are called upon to generate nuclear densities for fissioning Pu-240 and Fm-258 systems. This approach

allows us to study the fission process from early stages through scission providing insights into fission

mechanisms such as nuclear energy dissipation and the timescales in which fission may occur.