Activation cross section for 85Rb(n,2n)84mRb and 85Rb(n,p)85mKr reactions with uncertainty propagation and covariance analysis

The cross section of ⁸⁵Rb(n,2n)^84mRb and ⁸⁵Rb(n,p)^85mKr reactions were measured at neutron energy range 12–20 MeV using activation analysis followed by off-line γ-ray spectroscopic technique. The quasi mono-energetic neutrons were produced through ⁷Li(p,n)⁷Be reaction. The measurements were done relative to ²⁷Al(n,α)²⁴Na reference monitor reaction cross section. The detailed uncertainty propagation from the attributes present in measurements was performed using covariance analysis. The γ-ray self-attenuation and background low neutron energy corrections were performed in the measurement studies. Theoretical calculations were performed by TALYS-1.96 nuclear code. The comparison of measured values with the available data in EXFOR database and evaluated data from JENDL-5 and EAF-2010 shows the measured cross section values of ⁸⁵Rb(n,p)^85mKr reaction were slightly higher than the published values, evaluated data and theoretical data while for ⁸⁵Rb(n,2n)^84mRb, the measured values were consistent with the published data.