First experimental constraint on the ${}^{191}$Os$(n,\gamma )$ reaction rate relevant to $s$-process nucleosynthesis

Abstract

The nuclear level density and $\gamma$-decay strength of ${}^{192}$Os have been extracted using particle-$\gamma$ coincidence data from the ${}^{192}$Os($\alpha ,{\alpha }^{\prime }\gamma$)${}^{192}$Os reaction by means of the Oslo method. The level density is found to be a rather smooth function of excitation energy, approximately following the constant temperature model. The $\gamma$-decay strength is compared to photoneutron cross-section data above the neutron separation energy, and to $E1$ and $M1$ strengths for nuclei in this mass region derived from primary transitions following neutron capture. Our results are in good agreement with these previous data and draw a consistent picture of the $\gamma$-strength function in the range $E_{\gamma }\approx 1.5-6$ MeV. Using the measured nuclear level density and $\gamma$-decay strength as input to the nuclear-reaction code TALYS, we provide the first experimentally constrained Maxwellian-averaged cross section (MACS) for the ${}^{191}$Os($n,\gamma$)${}^{192}$Os reaction relevant to $s$-process nucleosynthesis. The systematic uncertainties introduced by the normalization procedure of the level density and $\gamma$-strength function were investigated and propagated to the calculated Maxwellian-averaged cross section. The obtained result of the Maxwellian-averaged cross section at $k_{B}T=30$ keV, $⟨\sigma {⟩}_{n,\gamma }=1134\pm 375$ mb, is in very good agreement with the theoretical estimate provided by the KADoNiS project, giving experimental support to the adopted KADoNiS value. Good agreement is also found with MACS values obtained from other libraries, such as TENDL-2017, ENDF/B-VII.0, and JEFF.

arXiv comment14 pages, 11 figures, accepted to Phys. Rev C

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