Cross sections of 197Au(p,n) 197gHg and 197Au(p,n) 197mHg reactions at energies below 18 MeV

Abstract

New experimental data are obtained on cross sections σ₁ and σ₂ of ¹⁹⁷Au(p,n)^197mHg and ¹⁹⁷Au(p,n)^197gHg reactions, respectively, as well as on the isomeric cross-section ratio R = σ₁ / σ₂ for proton energies below 18 MeV. The new data can help to clear up the discrepancies between existing data sets on σ₂ and R from different experiments. The cross-section data sets are compared to the predictions of the nuclear reactions simulation code TALYS (version 1.96), using different combinations of options of several main components of the code, such as the photon strength function, the optical model potential, the nuclear level density and the pre-equilibrium mechanism.