Thermal neutron induced charged particle reactions in radioactive targets of37Ar,109Cd,125Xe,127Xe,and132Cs

Thermal neutron induced charged particle reactions in a radioactive target of³⁷Ar have been studied. Upper limits of the cross-sections for the (n, α) reaction in radioactive targets of¹⁰⁹Cd,^{125, 127}Xe, and¹³²Cs have been obtained. The isotopically pure targets were produced at the ISOLDE facility at CERN and irradiated with thermal neutrons at the high flux reactor of the Institute Laue-Langevin in Grenoble. Charged particles from (n, p) and (n, α) reactions in³⁷Ar were observed with cross-sections of 69±14b and 1970 ±330b, respectively. TheQ-values for these reactions were determined to be 1600 ±12 keV and 4630±7 keV, in agreement with existing mass data. The branching ratio Γ_α/Γ_p of the³⁷Ar capturing state was found to be 28.5±2.7. An upper limit of the cross-section for the (n, γα) reaction in³⁷Ar was obtained.