Speaker
Description
Nuclear fission remains one of the most complex scientific problems of our times. Complete information on fission products and the related fission spectrum plays a key role in applied nuclear technology and in basic science. Yet, accurate and precise measurements are often very complex and expensive, technically difficult to perform, or even impossible if the target nuclei are too short-lived, making accurate fission modeling especially important. Since the beginning of nuclear science, physics models of fission have been heavily data-driven in order to provide enough flexibility to match experimental measurements. At the same time, fundamental fission theory based on a fully quantum-mechanical description of the fission process has made spectacular progress in the past decade. Some of the knowledge gained is beginning to be translated into concrete guidelines or inputs for evaluations. In this presentation, I will discuss the state of the art of fundamental fission theory by reviewing the main accomplishments of the past decade and discussing some of the open questions in the field.