Non-statistical effects in the radioactive capture cross sections of the neodymium isotopes

Abstract

The neutron capture cross sections of the stable neodymium isotopes have been measured with high energy resolution in the keV region at the 40 m station of ORELA. Average resonance parameters are extracted for s-wave resonances. Significant positive correlations are found between T0n and Tγ all isotopes. The magnitude of the observed correlation coefficient, particularly for 142Nd (p = 0.9), cannot be explained in terms of valence neutron capture and additional mechanisms are discussed. The average s-wave radiative widths for the odd-A isotopes are markedly greater than for the even-A isotopes, while the p-wave radiative width for 142Nd is considerably less than the s-wave width.