Neutron-induced cross sections of short-lived nuclei via the surrogate reaction method

• Main Authors: Tassan-Got L., Gunsing F., Sérot O., Matea I., Théroine C., Derkx X., Romain P., Taieb J., Morel P., Pillet N., Gaudefroy L., Faul T., Daugas J.M., Bauge E., Burke J.T., Czajkowski S., Companis I., Capellan N., Barreau G., Mathieu L., Aïche M., Roig O., Méot V., Jurado B., Boutoux G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: EDP Sciences 2012-02-01
• Series: EPJ Web of Conferences
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/20122101002

The measurement of neutron-induced cross sections of short-lived nuclei is extremely difficult due to the radioactivity of the samples. The surrogate reaction method is an indirect way of determining cross sections for nuclear reactions that proceed through a compound nucleus. This method presents the advantage that the target material can be stable or less radioactive than the material required for a neutron-induced measurement. We have successfully used the surrogate reaction method to extract neutron-induced fission cross sections of various short-lived actinides. In this work, we investigate whether this technique can be used to determine neutron-induced capture cross sections in the rare-earth region.