Measurement of γ-emission Branching Ratios for ^154,156,158Gd Compound Nuclei: Tests of Surrogate Nuclear Reaction Approximations for (n,γ) Cross Sections

Authors

N. D. Scielzo

DOI

10.1103/PhysRevC.81.034608

Abstract

The surrogate nuclear reaction method can be used to determine neutron-induced reaction cross sections from measured decay properties of a compound nucleus created using a different reaction and calculated formation cross sections. The reliability of (n,γ) cross sections determined using the Weisskopf-Ewing and ratio approximations are explored for the ^{155, 157}Gd(n,γ) reactions. Enriched gadolinium targets were bombarded with 22-MeV protons and γ rays were detected in coincidence with scattered protons using the Silicon Telescope Array for Reaction Studies/Livermore-Berkeley Array for Collaborative Experiments (STARS/LiBerACE) silicon and germanium detector arrays. The γ-emission probabilities for the ^{154, 156, 158}Gd compound nuclei were measured at excitation energies up to 12 MeV. It is found that the approximations yield results that deviate from directly measured ^{155, 157}Gd(n,γ) cross sections at low energies. To extract reliable cross sections, a more sophisticated analysis should be developed that takes into account angular-momentum differences between the neutron-induced and surrogate reactions.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-23-2010

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2010 The American Physical Society. This article first appeared in Physical Review C 81, no. 3 (March 23, 2010): 034608: 1-34608: 12. doi:10.1103/PhysRevC.81.034608.

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Recommended Citation

Scielzo, N. D., J. E. Escher, J. M. Allmond, M. S. Basunia, C. W. Beausang, L. A. Bernstein, D. L. Bleuel, J. T. Burke, R. M. Clark, F. S. Dietrich, P. Fallon, J. Gibelin, B. L. Goldblum, S. R. Lesher, M. A. Mcmahan, E. B. Norman, L. Phair, E. Rodriquez-Vieitez, S. A. Sheets, I. J. Thompson, and M. Wiedeking. "Measurement of γ-emission Branching Ratios for ^154,156,158Gd Compound Nuclei: Tests of Surrogate Nuclear Reaction Approximations for (n,γ) Cross Sections." Physical Review C 81, no. 3 (March 23, 2010): 034608: 1-34608: 12. doi:10.1103/PhysRevC.81.034608.