Note on the parities of the 7.97- to 8.197-MeV states in $sup 17$O and the $sup 13$C($alpha$,n)$sup 16$O reaction as a source of polarized neutrons

We have measured the angular distributions of the neutron polarization for the/ sup 13/C( alpha , n) reaction at E/sub alpha / = 2.075, 2.225, an d 2.43 MeV to determine J/sup pi / assignments for states in/ sup 17/O at 7.97, 8.07, a nd 8.197 MeV. Our analysis of sigma ( THETA ) and P( THETA ) data shows that the parity assignments reported by Scholermann for these states are ambiguous due to the spin and parity structure of the /sup 13/C( alpha , n) /sup 16/O reaction. Th e usefulness of this reaction as a source of polarized neutrons is also discussed briefly. (auth)