Total fission cross section of 181Ta and 208Pb induced by protons at relativistic energies

Total fission cross section induced by protons in
¹⁸¹
Ta and
²⁰⁸
Pb at energies in the range of 300 to 1000 A MeV have been measured at GSI (Germany) using the inverse kinematics technique. A dedicated setup with high efficiency made it possible to determine these cross sections with high accuracy. The new data seed light in the controversial results obtained so far and contribute to the understanding of the fission process at high excitation energies.