Compound-Nucleus Decay via the Emission of Heavy Nuclei

The production of ${}_{}{}^4{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{He}$, Li, ${}_{}{}^7{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{Be}$, ${}_{}{}^9{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{Be}$, B, C, N, O, and F has been studied in the reaction 90-MeV ${}_{}{}^3{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{He}$+${}_{}{}^{\mathrm{nat}}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{Ag}$. Although the yields of the heavier elements are orders of magnitude less than for ${}_{}{}^4{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{He}$, the energy spectra, charge, and angular distributions indicate that an equilibrium statistical process is responsible for the production of these heavy nuclei in the backward hemisphere.