EXCITATION CURVES FOR THE (n, 2n), (n, p), AND (n, nα) REACTIONS OF 65Cu

Abstract

Cross sections for the reactions 65Cu (n, 2n)64Cu, 65Cu(n, p)65Ni, and 65Cu(n, nα)61Co have been measured by the activation method from threshold energies up to 20.2 MeV. The measurements are relative to the known cross section for the reaction 32S(n, p)32P. The (n, 2n) cross-section curve increases smoothly with energy and reaches a maximum value of 1 085 ± 60 mb at about 18 MeV. The (n, p) reaction reaches a maximum value of 21.7 ± 1.2 mb at 13.9 MeV. The (n, nα) reaction has a minimum detectable value of 0.3 ± 0.1 mb near 14 MeV and increases to a value of 18.9 ± 0.9 mb at 19.8 MeV. Effective cross-section values for a fission-neutron spectrum calculated from these results are 0.251 ± 0.018 mb for the (n, 2n) reaction and 0.523 ± 0.030 mb for the (n, p) reaction.