A method for reducing bremsstrahlung-produced photoneutron spectra to partial (γ, n) cross sections

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Abstract

A new procedure is presented for reducing a series of bremsstrahlung-produced photoneutron spectra to partial (γ, n) cross sections to various possible states of the residual nucleus. The essentially new features of the method consist of the minor one of using linear interpolation to bridge gaps across regions where the cross sections cannot be calculated uniquely from the data, and the major one of requiring that the final computed partial cross section curves exhaust the entire yield spectra, not just the parts near the “tip” region which are usually used. The initially computed (and interpolated) “exact” cross sections are used to establish branching ratios to the various final states, which are held fixed in a fitting or normalization procedure. The method has the advantage that it permits reasonably good estimates of cross sections without requiring the large amount of data-taking the more conventional analysis would require, and it makes full use of the whole extent of the spectrum curves measured. The method is illustrated, and tested to a limited degree, by assuming cross sections for a fictitious nucleus HyA. Suggestions for improvements of the method are also presented. The general procedure may be useful in analysis of data from experiments other than photoneutron reactions, especially those where the effective resolution is as unfavorable as it is where the bremsstrahlung photon spectrum is the controlling factor.

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Work supported in part by NSF.

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