The (n, 2n) excitation functions for93Nb and103Rh with special respect to the isomeric states in92Nb and102Rh

By means of the activation technique the excitation functions for the reactions⁹³Nb(n,2n)^92mNb(10.15d),¹⁰³Rh(n,2n)^102mRh(2.9y), and¹⁰³Rh(n,2n)^102gRh(206d) were measured with an average total uncertainty of about ±8% between 10 and 20 MeV neutron energy. In addition the total⁹³Nb(n, 2n) cross-section was compared with the⁵⁹Co(n, 2n) cross-section at 16.8 MeV by direct neutron detection using the time-of-flight technique. The results are compared with statistical theory, especially with theoretical expectations for the isomeric cross-section ratios, which are only in reasonable agreement with the experiment if one assumes a ground state spinI _g=5 for⁹²Nb andI _g=2 for¹⁰²Rh.