Monte Carlo Simulation for Statistical Decay of Compound Nucleus

T. Kawano^a, P. Talou and M.B. Chadwick

Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, U.S.A.

^a e-mail: kawano@lanl.gov

Published online: 14 February 2012

Abstract

We perform Monte Carlo simulations for neutron and γ-ray emissions from a compound nucleus based on the Hauser-Feshbach statistical theory. This Monte Carlo Hauser-Feshbach (MCHF) method calculation, which gives us correlated information between emitted particles and γ-rays. It will be a powerful tool in many applications, as nuclear reactions can be probed in a more microscopic way. We have been developing the MCHF code, CGM, which solves the Hauser-Feshbach theory with the Monte Carlo method. The code includes all the standard models that used in a standard Hauser-Feshbach code, namely the particle transmission generator, the level density module, interface to the discrete level database, and so on. CGM can emit multiple neutrons, as long as the excitation energy of the compound nucleus is larger than the neutron separation energy. The γ-ray competition is always included at each compound decay stage, and the angular momentum and parity are conserved. Some calculations for a fission fragment ¹⁴⁰Xe are shown as examples of the MCHF method, and the correlation between the neutron and γ-ray is discussed.