14.77 MeV neutron-induced nuclear reaction cross sections for zinc,yttrium, and molybdenum targets

The cross sections for neutron-induced nuclear reactions on natural zinc, yttrium, and molybdenum targets were measured at a neutron energy of 14.77 ± 0.17 MeV using the activation technique, offline gamma-ray spectrometry, and a detailed covariance analysis. The uncertainty in the statistical model calculations of cross sections for the (n, 2n), (n, p), (n, α), and (n, γ) reactions with natural zinc, yttrium, and molybdenum at neutron energies from 13 to 17 MeV was calculated using the TALYS-1.96 nuclear code. The measured cross sections of the present study were compared with the experimental cross sections reported in the EXFOR database, the cross sections were calculated with the TALYS-1.96 and EMPIRE-3.2.3 nuclear codes and the evaluated nuclear data from the TENDL-2019, JENDL-5, and ENDF/B-VIII.0 libraries.