Decisive Role of Interference Effects in Describing T-Odd Asymmetries in Reactions Induced by Polarized Cold Neutrons

Abstract

A detailed analysis of T-odd asymmetries in the reactions of true ternary fission of nuclei that involves the emission of prescission alpha particles is performed within quantum-mechanical fission theory. This analysis is based on taking into account the effect of quantum rotation of a fissile compound nucleus formed upon the capture of a polarized cold neutron by an nonoriented target nucleus on angular distributions of both alpha particles and fission fragments. It is shown that the asymmetries in question cannot be described within the approach relying on the use of the classic method of trajectory calculations without taking into account the interference between the fission amplitudes for different neutron resonance states of a fissile compound nucleus that are formed at the initial stage of the reactions being studied.