Khindrance in primary γ decay after thermal and average resonance neutron capture

Abstract

The intensities of primary \ensuremath{\gamma}-ray transitions following thermal and average resonance neutron capture have been found to display a dependence on the final-state $K$ quantum number. The apparent $K$-hindrance effect is significantly stronger in the thermal than in the average resonance case. After thermal neutron capture, the intensity distributions indicate that the ``$K$-allowed'' transitions are associated with a higher number of degrees of freedom than the ``$K$-forbidden'' transitions. Possible explanations for the observed phenomena are discussed.