Direct measurement of 59Ni(n, p) 59Co and 59Ni(n, α) 56Fe at fast-neutron energies from 500 keV to 10 MeV

• Published in: Physical review. C 2022-04, Vol.105 (4)
• Main Authors: Kuvin, Sean Andrew, Lee, Hye Young, Birnbaum, Eva R., DiGiovine, Brad Joseph, Eiroa Lledo, Cecilia, Georgiadou, Anastasia, Herman, Michal W., Kawano, Toshihiko, Mocko, Veronika, Mosby, Shea Morgan, Vermeulen, Christiaan, Votaw, Daniel Gregory Jenks, Zavorka, Lukas, Perdikakis, Georgios, Tsintari, Pelagia, Kim, Hyeong-il
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: methods for nuclear reactions; neutron physics; NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS; nuclear reactions; nucleon induced nuclear reactions
• ISSN: 2469-9985; 2469-9993

We report nuclear reaction data for neutron induced reactions on unstable nuclei are critical for a wide range of applications spanning studies of nuclear astrophysics, nuclear reactor designs, and radiochemistry diagnostics. However, nuclear data evaluations of the reaction cross sections are largely based on calculations due to the difficulty in performing this class of measurements and the resulting lack of experimental data. For neutron induced charged particle reactions at fast neutron energies, at the MeV scale, these cross section predictions are predominately driven by statistical Hauser-Feshbach calculations. In this work, we present partial and total 59Ni(n, p) and 59Ni(n, α) cross sections, measured directly with a radioactive 59Ni target, and compare the results to the present nuclear data evaluations. In addition, the results from this work are compared to a recent study of the 59Ni(n, xp) reaction cross section that was performed via an indirect surrogate ratio method. The expected energy trend of the cross section, based on the current work, is inconsistent with that of the surrogate work. This calls into question the reliability of that application of the surrogate ratio method and highlights the need for direct measurements on unstable nuclei, when feasible.