Memory of the entrance-channel K distribution observed in fission at high angular momentum

Fission and evaporation residue cross sections, and fission fragment anisotropies, for the reaction ³⁴S + ¹⁶⁸Er have been measured to energies where the fission barrier no longer controls the fission process. Anisotropies calculated with the transition state model were found to be in excess of the measured anisotropies. Such an effect can be explained by assuming that the high angular momentum trajectories that lead to fission have some memory of the broad entrance-channel K distribution.