Role of p -induced population of medium-mass ( A ∼ 150 ) neutron-rich nuclei

Abstract

Excitation functions were measured by stacked-foil activation technique for the 150 Nd (p,xpyn) reaction using a 97.65% enriched 150Nd target. Measurement up to50 % above barrier and down to 18% below the barrier was performed using a proton beam energy (Ep) of 7–15 MeV from the VECC Cyclotron. The yield of suitable γ rays emitted following the decay of relevant evaporation residues was determined using a 50% high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector. The (p,n) cross section was found to follow the expected trend with a maximum value of 63.7(4.9) mb at Ep∼8.6 MeV. The (p,2n) cross section gradually increased with Ep and had a maximum contribution to the totalreaction cross section after Ep∼9.0 MeV. The (channel also showed a reasonable yield with a threshold of Ep{12.0 MeV. The experimental data were corroborated with statistical model calculations using different codes, viz., cascade, alice/91, and empire3.1. All the calculations using a suitable set of global parameters could reproduce the excitation function fairly well in the present energy range.