Proton inelastic scattering on 56Fe: Insights from the 9-MV Tandem Accelerator measurements @ IFIN-HH

Abstract

Investigations into the inelastic scattering of neutrons and protons off ⁵⁶Fe are relevant both for the development of new nuclear facilities and also for obtaining a better understanding of nuclear reaction mechanisms. While a new experiment measuring the neutron inelastic cross section on ⁵⁶Fe at the Geel Electron Linear Accelerator (GELINA) neutron source of the EC-JRC, Geel (Belgium) is scheduled in the near future, a complementary proton-induced measurement was already performed at the 9-MV Tandem accelerator of IFIN-HH (Romania). The setup consisted of two HPGe detectors for γ-ray detection, and of a Faraday Cup coupled to a high-precision charge integrator for proton beam integration. This paper focuses on the IFIN-HH measurements presenting the experimental setup and particularities and the extracted results following proton inelastic scattering off three iron targets: 3.0 mg/cm² of ${}^{nat}$Fe and 0.6 and 3.3 mg/cm² of ⁵⁶Fe (enriched to 99.77%). We were able to measure the cross section for the first three most intense transitions arising from the inelastic channel on ⁵⁶Fe. We will also present a comparative analysis of our results with previously reported cross section data and talys 2.0 theoretical predictions - using both standard and tuned parameters for the nucleon-⁵⁶Fe optical model potential.