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DOE OSTI · 3387539

Constraining capture cross sections using proton inelastic scattering as a surrogate reaction

Thapa, Aaina [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0009000550333334)·Escher, Jutta [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000208299153)·Chimanski, Emanuel [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000167904977)·Gorton, Oliver [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000336439640)·Dupuis, Marc [Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) (France); Univ. Paris-Saclay (France)] (ORCID:000000017046225X)·In, Eun Jin [Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge, LA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000329524994)·Ota, Shuya [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000193127454)·Péru, Sophie [Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) (France); Univ. Paris-Saclay (France)] (ORCID:0000000258580314)·Younes, Walid [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0009000382018975)
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Abstract

The surrogate reaction method is an alternative to direct measurements of compound nuclear reaction cross sections. We introduce theory tools for extracting capture cross sections from experiments that use proton inelastic scattering as a surrogate reaction mechanism. This makes it possible to constrain compound nucleus decay models which are typically the largest source of uncertainty in capture cross section calculations. This letter describes the theory developments that were used to simultaneously infer 89 Y(p, γ) and 89 Zr(n, γ) cross sections from 90 Zr(p, p′γ) surrogate measurements.

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73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICSDirect inelastic scatteringMonte Carlo methodsPhysics - Nuclear physics and radiation physicsSurrogate reaction theoryγ-ray strength functions

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Thapa, Aaina [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0009000550333334), Escher, Jutta [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000208299153), Chimanski, Emanuel [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000167904977), Gorton, Oliver [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000336439640), Dupuis, Marc [Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) (France); Univ. Paris-Saclay (France)] (ORCID:000000017046225X), In, Eun Jin [Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge, LA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000329524994), Ota, Shuya [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000193127454), Péru, Sophie [Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) (France); Univ. Paris-Saclay (France)] (ORCID:0000000258580314), Younes, Walid [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0009000382018975). 2026-05-01. Constraining capture cross sections using proton inelastic scattering as a surrogate reaction. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2026.140433

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