Decay widths at the scission point in nuclear fission

Abstract: An outstanding problem in the theory of nuclear fission is understanding the Hamiltonian dynamics at the scission point. Here we apply the Generator Coordinate Method to calculate decay widths for pre-scission configurations into the two-fragment continuum. Transitions that are allowed under diabatic dynamics can have widths up to several MeV. For non-diabatic decays through the pairing interaction, typical widths to a specific final state channel are 2-3 orders of magnitude smaller. The nucleus U-236 is taken as a representative example in the calculations.