Abstract
One of the basic ingredients for the modelling of the nucleosynthesis of heavy elements are so-called photon strength functions and the assumption of the Brink-Axel hypothesis. This hypothesis has been studied for many years by numerous experiments using different and complementary reactions. The present manuscript aims to introduce a model-independent approach to study photon strength functions via γ-γ coincidence spectroscopy of photoexcited states in 128Te. The experimental results provide evidence that the photon strength function extracted from photoabsorption cross sections is not in an overall agreement with the one determined from direct transitions to low-lying excited states.
Highlights
The photon strength function (PSF) serves as an essential input for nuclear astrophysical model calculations
We present a modelindependent approach, exemplarily for 128Te, to extract the PSF in real-photon scattering experiments using quasi-monochromatic photon beams provided by the High Intensity γ-ray Source (HIγS) [6] at Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
Two independent methods are introduced to determine the PSF for the excitation as well as for the decay channel in a single experiment exploiting the monochromatic character of the photon beam provided by the HIγS facility
Summary
The photon strength function (PSF) serves as an essential input for nuclear astrophysical model calculations. We present a modelindependent approach, exemplarily for 128Te, to extract the PSF in real-photon scattering experiments using quasi-monochromatic photon beams provided by the High Intensity γ-ray Source (HIγS) [6] at Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
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