Validation of the multinucleon transfer method for the determination of the fission barrier height

The validity of the multinucleon transfer (MNT) approach for deduction of fission barrier heights was investigated in an experiment carried out at the JAEA tandem accelerator facility. By using the O18 + Np237 reaction, fission barrier heights were inferred from fission probabilities of the nuclei Np239 and Pu239,240 produced in the 2n and pn/p2n transfer channels, respectively. The deduced values of fission barriers agree well with the literature data, thus demonstrating the potential of the MNT reactions for obtaining fission-barrier data for nuclei not accessible for fission studies via neutron- or light charged particle-induced reactions.