Study of ternary and quaternary spontaneous fission of sup 2 sup 5 sup 2 Cf with the NESSI detector

Ternary and quaternary spontaneous decay of sup 2 sup 5 sup 2 Cf was studied with the NESSI detector, a combination of two 4 pi detectors for charged particles, neutrons and gamma-rays. The applied method of particle identification by measuring the energies and relative time-of-flights of the decay products is shown to be very effective for the study of rare decay modes. The energy and angular distributions of the decay products, the associated neutron multiplicities, the total energy of the prompt gamma-radiation as well as correlations between the various observables were measured for the first time in a single full-scale experiment. The characteristics of ternary fission known from previous investigations are confirmed in the frame of a methodically independent experiment. Preliminary estimates of the quaternary fission yield are presented. An attempt is made to determine the mechanism of quaternary fission.