Neutron capture cross sections from Surrogate measurements

J.E. Escher^a, F.S. Dietrich and N.D. Scielzo

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA

^a e-mail: escher1@llnl.gov

Abstract

The prospects for determining cross sections for compound-nuclear neutron-capture reactions from Surrogate measurements are investigated. Calculations as well as experimental results are presented that test the Weisskopf-Ewing approximation, which is employed in most analyses of Surrogate data. It is concluded that, in general, one has to go beyond this approximation in order to obtain (n,γ) cross sections of sufficient accuracy for most astrophysical and nuclear-energy applications.