Compound-nuclear reactions with unstable nuclei: Constraining theory through innovative experimental approaches

¹ Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
² Department of Physics, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia, 23173, USA
³ Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH, UK
⁴ Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
⁵ Institut fuer Kernphysik, TU Darmstadt, Schlossgartenstrasse 9, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany

^a e-mail: escher1@llnl.gov

Published online: 21 June 2016

Abstract

Cross sections for compound-nuclear reactions involving unstable targets are important for many applications, but can often not be measured directly. Several indirect methods have recently been proposed to determine neutron capture cross sections for unstable isotopes. We consider three approaches that aim at constraining statistical calculations of capture cross sections with data obtained from the decay of the compound nucleus relevant to the desired reaction. Each method produces this compound nucleus in a different manner (via a light-ion reaction, a photon-induced reaction, or β-decay) and requires additional ingredients to yield the sought-after cross section. We give a brief outline of the approaches and employ preliminary results from recent measurements to illustrate the methods. We discuss the main advantages and challenges of each approach.