On the correlation of the nuclear energy levels of uranium-236 and plutonium-240
1958; Pergamon Press; Volume: 7; Issue: 1-2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1016/0891-3919(58)90229-8
ISSN1878-2051
Autores Tópico(s)Nuclear physics research studies
ResumoThe current theoretical treatment of the energy levels excited in slow-neutron bombardment assumes that the level of excitation of the compound nucleus is so high that the parameters of the levels appear to be chosen at random. This assumption has been found to be supported by studies of parameters of individual resonances, but such studies can be made only over an energy region containing perhaps ten levels. A technique is developed by means of which this type of work may be extended over a region containing thousands of levels. This technique is then applied to the slow-neutron fission cross-section of 235U and 239Pu, and the total cross-section of 235U. It is found that there is strong evidence for a correlation existing over an energy range containing approximately sixty levels. A quantitative account of this correlation is worked out on the assumption that the cross-section at any given point is partly determined by the local average cross-section over an interval containing sixty levels.
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