Alpha particles from the interaction of 14 MeV neutrons with arsenic

Abstract

Energy and angular distribution of alpha particles from the 33As 75(n, α) 31Ga 72 reaction have been studied by the emulsion technique. The area under the energy distribution shows that the number of alpha particles emitted below the Coulomb barrier is more than is expected from the statistical theory. The angular distribution about the centre-of-mass system is roughly symmetrical about 90°, and concave upwards. The relative level density plotted from the energy distribution fits a straight line, except on the low energy side, and corresponds to a nuclear temperature of 0.7 MeV. The total cross section is estimated to be 29mb±10%.