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Abrupt change in radiation-width distribution for 147Sm neutron resonances
P E Koehler1, R Reifarth, J L Ullmann
1Physics Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA.
Radiation width distributions for s-wave resonances in samarium-147 (¹⁴⁷Sm) unexpectedly change near 300 eV. This finding challenges nuclear theory and impacts nuclear astrophysics and criticality safety applications.
Area of Science:
- Nuclear Physics
- Neutron Resonance Spectroscopy
Background:
- Established nuclear theory predicts consistent distributions of radiation widths for resonances.
- Previous studies indicated changes in neutron width distributions for samarium-147 (¹⁴⁷Sm) resonances.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the radiation width distributions of s-wave resonances in ¹⁴⁷Sm.
- To analyze the impact of observed width distribution changes on nuclear cross sections and fluctuations.
Main Methods:
- R-matrix analysis of ¹⁴⁷Sm(n,γ) cross sections.
- Examination of radiation width distributions for resonances below and above 300 eV.
Main Results:
- Radiation width distributions for s-wave resonances show a marked difference above and below 300 eV neutron energy.
- Abrupt increases in the average ¹⁴⁷Sm(n,γ) cross section and its fluctuations were observed near 300 eV.
Conclusions:
- The observed changes in radiation width distributions contradict established nuclear theory.
- These findings have significant implications for nuclear astrophysics and nuclear criticality safety.
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