First application of the Oslo method in inverse kinematics

Abstract

The γ-ray strength function (SF) and nuclear level density (NLD) have been extracted for the first time from inverse kinematic reactions with the Oslo method. This novel technique allows measurements of these properties across a wide range of previously inaccessible nuclei. Proton–γ coincidence events from the d(⁸⁷Kr,p)⁸⁶Kr reaction were measured at iThemba LABS and the γSF and NLD in ⁸⁶Kr was obtained. The low-energy region of the γSF is compared to shell-model calculations, which suggest this region to be dominated by M1 strength. The γSF and NLD are used as input parameters to Hauser–Feshbach calculations to constrain (n,γ) cross sections of nuclei using the TALYS reaction code. These results are compared to ⁸⁶Kr(n,γ) data from direct measurements.