Measurement of the thermal neutron cross section and resonance integral of the 187Re(n,γ)188Re reaction

Abstract

We measured the thermal neutron capture cross sections (σ0) and resonance integral (I0) of the 187Re(n,γ)188Re reaction relative to that of the 197Au(n,γ)198Au monitor reaction using neutron activation with the Cd ratio method. The investigated samples and monitors were irradiated with and without a 0.5-mm-thick Cd cover for the pulsed neutron source based on the 100-MeV electron linac at the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory (PAL). The induced activities for the reaction products were measured using a high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector. In order to improve the accuracy of the experimental results, the necessary corrections were made. The thermal neutron capture cross sections and resonance integral of the 187Re(n,γ)188Re reaction were determined relative to reference values of σo,Au = 98.65 ± 0.09 barn and Io,Au = 1550 ± 28 barn from the 197Au(n,γ)198Au reaction, respectively. The corresponding values for the 187Re(n,γ)188Re reaction were determined to be σ0,Re = 75.6 ± 3.4 barn and I0,Re = 317 ± 22 barn, respectively. The obtained results are compared with the literature data and discussed.