The charge and mass distribution of orbiting yields from the ${}_{}{}^{28}{}_{}{}^{}$Si${+\mathrm{}}^{14}$N interaction have been studied at center of mass energies between 30 and 56.7 MeV. The data indicate that the orbiting system lives sufficiently long for the exit channel yields to be determined by phase space considerations. The data are compared with compound nucleus and orbiting calculations, and clearly favor the latter. Further comparisons between the data and the orbiting calculations indicate that full phase space equilibration of the orbiting yields is hindered at low excitation energies by the inaccessibility of single nucleon transfer channels. Also evident in the data is a correlation in the behaviors of the charge width, mass width, and final product kinetic energies, which is interpretable as arising from a maximum angular momentum that the ${}_{}{}^{28}{}_{}{}^{}$Si${+\mathrm{}}^{14}$N orbiting composite can sustain.

• Received 13 August 1987

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.37.652