STUDY OF PHOTONEUTRON CROSS SECTION: PHENOMENOLOGICALAPPROACH TO LOW-MASS TARGETS

Abstract

In this paper, a new phenomenological treatment of the photoneutron cross section is made, where the photoneutron cross-section is studied and interpreted on the bases of Giant Dipole Resonance (GDR) plus Quasi-Deuteron (QD) models. First, an extensive and overall survey on the literature found on the subject of photoneutron cross section calculations is made, mostly based on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) publications and data banks. Then, from comparing the present theories with existing data a useful conclusion was reached that within the mass number less than 8, a simple expression for the photoneutron cross section calculations can be found. An equation was suggested in this paper. This equation has a Lorentzian shape modified to include the QD contribution. This equation was applied to experimental data and comparisons show that most parts of the experimental data can be reproduced with error less than ~ 6%. The selected isotopes in this study are limited to low mass and intermediate energy ranges.