Investigation of neutron-induced ternary fission of U-238 and U-235 with the NIFFTE time projection chamber

Ternary fission is a rare process in which a nucleus breaks up into three daughters rather than two.  The most common outcome is two heavier fragments accompanied by an alpha particle, with the upper limit for the third daughter set by tri-partition of the nucleus into three nearly equal mass fragments.  Tracked fission event data recorded by the NIFFTE collaboration for neutron-induced fission of U-238 and U-235 targets have been analyzed to determine average opening angles, fragment energies, and production rates as a function of neutron energy for ternary candidates.  Preliminary results from these studies will be presented.