Eur. Phys. J. A (2013) 49: 144
https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/i2013-13144-2

Regular Article - Experimental Physics

Results of total cross section measurements for ¹⁹⁷Au in the neutron energy region from 4 to 108 keV at GELINA

¹ Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy, BG-1784, Sofia, Bulgaria
² EC-JRC-IRMM, Retieseweg 111, B-2440, Geel, Belgium
³ NAPC - Nuclear Data Section, International Atomic Energy Agency, A-1400, Vienna, Austria
⁴ OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, 12 Bd des Iles, 92130, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France
⁵ University of Bologna and INFN, Sezione di Bologna, Via Irnerio 46, 40126, Bologna, Italy

^* e-mail: peter.schillebeeckx@ec.europa.eu

Received: 10 September 2013
Accepted: 24 October 2013
Published online: 19 November 2013

Abstract

Transmission measurements have been performed to determine the total cross section for neutron-induced reactions with ¹⁹⁷Au in the energy region from 4keV to 108keV. The experiments were carried out at a 50m measurement station of the time-of-flight facility GELINA using a ⁶Li glass scintillator. The average total cross section as a function of neutron energy was derived after correcting the observed average transmission for cross section fluctuations due to resonance structures. The results have been compared with literature data and with the total cross section resulting from a dispersive coupled-channel optical model potential. The neutron strength function for s -wave neutrons and an orbital-independent scattering radius, together with their covariance matrix, have been derived in the neutron energy region between 4keV and 108keV through a parameterization of the total cross section based on a nuclear reaction theory.