Experimental Determination of Excitation Functions For Selected Threshold (n,p) Reactions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59436/ijpsr.v1i1.7.3139-342XKeywords:
Fast neutrons; Threshold (n,p) reactions; Excitation functions; EXFOR; ENDF/B-VIII.1; TALYS-1.96; TENDL-2023; Nuclear data evaluation; Neutron activation analysis..Abstract
Fast neutron-induced threshold (n,p) reactions serve as vital instruments in nuclear science due to their wide applications in reactor dosimetry, fusion technology, neutron activation analysis, radiation shielding, and production of medical isotopes. The need for accurate excitation function data is critical to developing nuclear reaction models and validating evaluated nuclear data libraries. The study provided in this paper constitutes a comparison of the excitation functions obtained experimentally for the following threshold reactions: ²⁷Al(n,p)²⁷Mg, ⁵⁶Fe(n,p)⁵⁶ Mn, ⁵⁸Ni(n,p)⁵⁸Co, ⁵⁹Co(n,p)⁵⁹Fe, and ⁶³Cu(n,p)⁶³Ni within the range of energy of fast neutrons that lies between 5 to 20 MeV. Data from experiments were systematically compared with the evaluated nuclear data libraries namely ENDF/B-VIII.1 and TENDL-2023 and also with the theoretical predictions made using the TALYS-1.96 nuclear reaction code. The comparison showed that there was greater agreement with the experimental excitation functions obtained from the ENDF/B-VIII.1 evaluated nuclear data file in relation to the excitation functions of different isotopes. However, the TENDL model was important for those isotopes for which there was insufficient experimental data. The TALYS modeling was able to reproduce the general energy dependence of the reactions studied but with moderate discrepancy around the thresholds and peaks final cross-sections. The study established the need for greater accuracy of experimental methods and the need for regular updates to the evaluated nuclear data libraries.
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