Proton induced reactions on 118Sn target at energies up to 18 MeV

TL;DR

This study measured proton-induced reaction cross sections on 118Sn up to 18 MeV, providing new experimental data and comparing it with theoretical models, revealing discrepancies in complex particle emissions.

Contribution

First-time measurement of cross sections for 118Sn(p,{ extalpha})115mIn and 118Sn(p,x)117mSn reactions and comparison with multiple nuclear data libraries.

Findings

Experimental data agree well with previous measurements.

New cross section data for specific reactions are reported.

Discrepancies observed in reactions involving composite particles.

Abstract

Proton-induced reactions on enriched 118Sn up to 18 MeV have been investigated. Using the stacked-foil activation technique, the excitation functions of the reactions 118Sn(p,n)118Sb, 118Sn(p,2n)117Sb, 118Sn(p,{\alpha})115mIn, and 118Sn(p,x)117mSn were measured. The available experimental data show good agreement with our measurements. The cross sections for the 118Sn(p,x)117mSn and 118Sn(p,{\alpha})115mIn reactions are reported for the first time. The measured cross sections were compared not only with previously published experimental results, but also with theoretical predictions from the TENDL-2023 (TALYS-based evaluated nuclear data library), TENDL-2025 and JENDL-5 (Japanese Evaluated Nuclear Data Library) libraries. Discrepancies between experimental and theoretical data were observed for reactions involving composite-particle emission, such as alpha particles and deuterons. These differences suggest that while current models adequately describe simple two-nucleon emission channels, further refinements are needed, particularly for modeling composite-particle emission at lower proton energies.