Cross sections of the photoneutron reaction for 141Pr and 186W nuclei, estimated from physical criteria of data reliability

Abstract

Using objective physical criteria for data reliability, cross sections of partial photoneutron reactions (γ, 1n), (γ, 2n) and (γ, 3n) that are free of the shortcomings of neutron multiplicity sorting methods used on beams of quasimonoenergetic annihilation photons are obtained for ¹⁴¹Pr and ¹⁸⁶W nuclei. Evaluation is performed using the experimental–theoretical method (ETM), based on the experimental cross section of neutron yield reaction σ^exp(γ, xn) = σ^exp(γ, 1n) + 2 σ^exp(γ, 2ⁿ) + 3 σexp(γ, 3n) + … and ratios F_i^theor= σ^theor(γ, in)/σ^theor(γ, xn) calculated within the combined model (CM) of photonuclear reactions, which stipulates that σ^eval(γ, in) = F_i^theor σ^exp(γ, xn). It is found that for ¹⁴¹Pr and ¹⁸⁶W, ratios F^exp_i do not contradict the data reliability criteria only at energies up to ~21 and ~22 MeV, respectively. At the same time, there are notable discrepancies between F_i^theor and F^exp_i, and thus between the evaluated and experimental cross sections of reactions. It is shown that the discrepancies between the evaluated and experimental cross sections are due to the assumed unreliable experimental distribution of neutrons in the channels with multiplicities 1, 2, and 3.