Azimuthal distributions of fission fragments and ± particles emitted in the reactions Ar36+238U at E/A=20 and 35 MeV and N14+238U at E/A=50 MeV

Azimuthal correlations between coincident fission fragments and ± particles were measured for the reactions Ar36+238U at E/A=20 and 35 MeV and N14+238U at E/A=50 MeV. At all energies, coplanar emission is enhanced. The azimuthal distributions for fission fragments and ± particles are decoupled using a simple parametrization. Both azimuthal distributions are highly anisotropic at lower incident energies; these anisotropies decrease with energy. At the highest incident energies, energetic ± particles emitted at large transverse momenta appear to be more suited than fission fragments to tag the orientation of the entrance channel reaction plane.