Cross Sections Calculation of (gamma,N) Reactions for Some Elements

Abstract

Photonuclear processes can play an important role in the detection of nuclear materials. For this purpose, in this study, the (gamma,n) and (gamma,p) cross sections as functions of photon energy in medium weight nuclei were calculated. Calculations have been made of the cross sections for some of the (gamma, n) and (gamma, p) reactions in Si-28, S-32, Fe-56 and Cu-63 nuclei using the TALYS 1.6 nuclear code with incident photons of 7-40 MeV. These calculated cross sections are compared with each other and with the earlier experimental results from the literature (EXFOR). Calculated results (Fe-56(gamma, n), Cu-63(gamma, n), Fe-56(gamma, p) and Cu-63(gamma, p) cross sections) are in very good agreement with the experimental data. However, because of the Coulomb barrier, the photoproton cross sections for S-32, Fe-56 and 6 3 Cu target nuclei, are smaller than the photoneutron cross sections.