He particle emission in fast neutron induced reactions

Cross sections for some (n, ³He + dp + n2p) and (n, + 2n2p + n³He + pt + dd + dnp) reactions induced by fast neutrons produced via breakup of 53 MeV deuterons on a Be target (E_n = 4–50 MeV; I_max at 22.5 MeV; FWHM = 15.8 MeV) were measured for isotopes of the elements I, La, Nd, Tb, Ho, Yb, W and Au by the activation technique using high-resolution γ-ray spectroscopy, wherever necessary chemical separation, and in several cases enriched isotopes as targets. Furthermore, ³He/ emission cross-section ratios were measured for Co, Ag, In, Cs, La, Ta, Au and Bi using a quadrupole mass spectrometer. The cross sections decrease as a function of increasing (N−Z)/A of the target nucleus. For target elements with Z 44, the ³He/ emission cross-section ratio increases with increasing Z; for elements with Z > 44, however, the trend is reversed. Hauser-Feshbach calculations suggest that the ³He/ emission cross-section ratios are not explainable by the statistical model.