Width-fluctuation effects in angular correlation in inelastic nucleon scattering

The effects of level-width fluctuations on the nucleon-gamma angular correlations and double-differential cross sections have been studied on the basis of Moldauer's formulation. Computational procedures for pursuing the width-fluctuation studies on a routine basis for reactions following the compound nucleus mechanism have been developed. The width-fluctuation effects in (n, n'γ) reactions with ²⁴Mg and ⁵⁶Fe have been calculated. These calculations indicate that the inclusion of width-fluctuation considerations significantly reduces the double differential cross sections compared to those made on the basis of Hauser-Feshbach theory. However, as expected, the shape of the angular correlation function is not siginificantly altered by the width-fluctuation corrections.