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PHOTODISINTEGRATION OF OXYGEN

Journal Article · · Arkiv Fysik
OSTI ID:4353329

The ( gamma ,p) and ( gamma , alpha ) reactions in O/sup 16/ have been studied. Oxygen gas was irradiated in the bremsstrahlung beam of a 35 Mev synchrotron. The photoprotons were recorded by nuclear emulsions. Three different maximum bremsstrahlung energies were used: 20.5, 23, and 26 Mev. The low energy irradiation gives a proton spectrum containing well resolved peaks. They are attributed to transitions from resonances in O/sup 16/ to the ground state of N/sup 15/. There is a very good agreement with the breaks found in the activation curve of the ( gamma ,n) reaction. The information about the resonances in the low energy region is then used to analyze the proton spectrum at the medium energy. Finally, the proton spectrum at the highest irradiation energy is analyzed by means of the information from the other two irradiations. In this way it is possible to resolve the proton spectra in transitions from various resonances or groups of resonances in O/sup 16/ to the ground state and the excited states of N/sup 15/. The angular distributions of the strongest proton groups have been studied. The information about the photodisintegration of O/sup 16/ obtained in the present work is compared with the predictions of the various models proposed to explain the photodisintegration. Below the threshold of the ( gamma ,p) reaction the photodisintegration of O/sup 16/ was studied by investigating the ( gamma , alpha ) reaction. Nuclear emulsions were soaked in water in order to increase the oxygen content and then irradiated directly in the synchrotron beam. The alpha tracks from the photodisintegration of oxygen were identified by the short, heavily ionized track of the recoiling daughter nucleus. The alpha particle spectrum shows two groups corresponding to levels in O/sup 16/ at 11.3 and 12.5 Mev. This result is compared with the theoretical calculations based on the alpha -particle model for O/sup 16/. The agreement with the theory is very good. (auth)

Research Organization:
Univ. of Lund, Sweden
NSA Number:
NSA-12-000601
OSTI ID:
4353329
Journal Information:
Arkiv Fysik, Journal Name: Arkiv Fysik Vol. Vol: 12
Country of Publication:
Country unknown/Code not available
Language:
English

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