STUDY OF THE Sm$sup 149$(n,$alpha$)Nd$sup 146$ REACTION WITH THERMAL NEUTRONS

Journal Article · Sat Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1962 · Physical Review (U.S.) Superseded in part by Phys. Rev. A, Phys. Rev. B: Solid State, Phys. Rev. C, and Phys. Rev. D

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRev.127.1665· OSTI ID:4787474

MacFarlane, R. D.; Almodovar, I.

The cross section for the Sm/sup 149/(n, alpha )Nd/sup 146/ reaction at thermal neutron energies is measured by observing the alpha spectrum of natural Sm and isotopically enriched Sm/sup 149/ targets in the thermal column of a reactor. A1pha groups are observed at 8.72 and 9.12 Mev, corresponding to transitions to the first-excited and ground states of Nd/sup 146/. The thermal cross sections ( sigma /sub 0/) for the two groups are calculated to be 121 plus or minus 15 and 22 plus or minus 10 mb respectively from the experimental results. The 4-- resonance at 0.0967 ev accounts for most of the cross section to the first excited state, but cannot contribute to the population of the ground state. It is postulated that the population of the ground state arises from a contribution of a bound 3-state in Sm/sup 150/. Calculated values for the (n, alpha ) cross section are compared with the experimental results. (auth)

• Research Organization: Univ. of California, Berkeley
• NSA Number: NSA-16-033881
• OSTI ID: 4787474
• Report Number(s): UCRL-10064; 0031-899X
• Journal Information: Physical Review (U.S.) Superseded in part by Phys. Rev. A, Phys. Rev. B: Solid State, Phys. Rev. C, and Phys. Rev. D, Journal Name: Physical Review (U.S.) Superseded in part by Phys. Rev. A, Phys. Rev. B: Solid State, Phys. Rev. C, and Phys. Rev. D Vol. Vol: 127; ISSN PHRVA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

ALPHA PARTICLES
CROSS SECTIONS
ENERGY LEVELS
ENRICHMENT
EXCITATION
MEASURED VALUES
MODERATORS
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
PHYSICS
REACTORS
RESONANCE
SAMARIUM
SAMARIUM 146
SAMARIUM 149
SAMARIUM 150
SPECTRA
THERMAL COLUMN
THERMAL NEUTRONS
TRANSITIONS