Extraction of angular momenta from isomeric yield ratios

The generation of angular momentum in fission is difficult to model, in particular at higher excitation energies where data are scarce. Isomeric yield ratios (IYR) play an important role in deducing angular momentum properties of fission fragments (FF), albeit this requires some assumptions and simplifications. To estimate FF angular momentum, fission codes can be used to calculate IYRs and compare them to experimental data. Such measurements have systematically been performed at the IGISOL facility using novel experimental techniques. In conjunction, a new method has been developed to infer the angular momentum of the primary FF using the nuclear reaction code TALYS. In this work, we evaluate this new method by comparing our TALYS calculations with values found in the literature and with results from the GEF fission code, for a few well-studied reactions. The overall results show a consistent performance of TALYS and GEF, as well as of many reported literature values. However, some deviations were found, possibly pinpointing the need to re-examine some of the reported literature values. A sensitivity analysis was also performed, in which the role of excitation energy, neutron emission, discrete level structure and level density models were studied. Finally, the role of multiple chance fission, of relevance for the reactions studied at IGISOL, is discussed. Some literature data for this reaction were also re-analyzed using TALYS, revealing significant differences.