Entry Distribution, Fission Barrier, and Formation Mechanism ofN102254o

The entry distribution in angular momentum and excitation energy for the formation of {sup 254}No has been measured after the {sup 208}Pb( {sup 48}Ca, 2 n) reaction at 215 and 219 MeV. This nucleus is populated up to spin 22({Dirac_h}/2{pi}) and excitation energy (greater-or-similar sign)6 MeV above the yrast line, with the half-maximum points of the energy distributions at {approx}5 MeV for spins between 12({Dirac_h}/2{pi}) and 22({Dirac_h}/2{pi}) . This suggests that the fission barrier is (greater-or-similar sign)5 MeV and that the shell-correction energy persists to high spin. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society.