MEASUREMENT OF THE PRODUCT MASS DISTRIBUTIONS FROM HEAVY-ION-INDUCED NUCLEAR-REACTIONS .1. GAMMA-RAY SPECTROMETRIC PRODUCT IDENTIFICATION

A system for the measurement of the product mass yield distributions from heavy-ion-induced nuclear reactions has been developed. This system is based on the gamma-ray spectrometric identification of product radioactivities in the irradiated target materials or in separated chemical fractions derived from the target. Gamma-ray spectra are collected as a function of time and all peaks and peak areas are identified and measured with a modified version of SAMPO. Decay curves for all gamma-rays observed in two or more spectra are constructed by the computer code TAU1. A current table of all the known gamma-ray transitions is then used to match a known gamma-ray energy and half-life to each measured decay curve. This is done interactively with the computer code TAU2 and a Tektronix graphics terminal. Examples of the various options are given. Nuclear reaction cross-sections are calculated on weighted average of all the observed gamma-rays for each product nuclide after the identifications have been screened for duplicate or erroneous identifications and for self-consistency. © 1979 North-Holland Publishing Co.