Cross-section measurement of the ${}^{114}\mathrm{Cd}(p,\gamma ){}^{115m}\mathrm{In}$ reaction for nuclear reactor and astrophysical applications

The present study, carried out for the first time, contributes to the multidisciplinary work in reactor design and nuclear astrophysics. Cadmium has been chosen for the present study for its significant importance in the development of nuclear reactors and for the astrophysical $p$ process. A stacked foil activation technique followed by offline $\gamma$-ray spectroscopy were used to carry out the present work. Cross sections were measured for the ${}^{114}\mathrm{Cd}{(p,\gamma )}^{115m}$ reaction due to the scarcity of data observed in the literature. The $S$ factor was calculated from the cross-section data. The ${}^{114}\mathrm{Cd}(p,n){}^{114m}\mathrm{In}$ reaction was also investigated using the same spectra. Statistical model calculations were performed using the Hauser-Feshbach (HF) code of the latest version of talys and were compared with the measured data and the previously measured experimental data available in the literature. A good agreement between theoretical and experimental data was found. The present data follow the trend of theoretical predictions and are in good agreement with the EXFOR database.

Figure 1

Proton energy degradation using mcnp 6.2 code.

Figure 2

A schematic diagram of the stacked foil experiment [40, 41].

Figure 3

A typical $\gamma$-ray energy spectrum obtained from the interaction of p$+{}^{114}\mathrm{Cd}$ at ${\mathrm{E}}_p\approx$ 16 MeV.

Figure 4

Upper panel: Comparison of the cross sections for the ${}^{114}\mathrm{Cd}(p,\gamma ){}^{115m}\mathrm{In}$ reaction with three different HF calculations using the talys-1, talys-2, and talys-3 combinations (see Sec. 4 for details) and with the data retrieved from the literature (Skakun 1987 [24], Tàrkànyi 2005 [25]). Lower panel: Comparison of the cross-section data for the ${}^{114}\mathrm{Cd}(p,n){}^{114m}\mathrm{In}$ reaction with three different HF calculations using the talys-1, talys-2, and talys-3 combinations (see Sec. 4 for details) and with the data retrieved from the literature (Blaser 1953 [26], Wing 1962 [27], Hermanne 2014 [28], Zaitseva 1990 [29], Tàrkànyi 2005 [25], Said 2006 [30], Zarubin 2001 [31], Skakun 1975 [32], Blosser 1955 [33]). The corresponding astrophysical $S$ factors are plotted in the right panel.