147Sm(n, α) Cross Section Measurements from 3 eV to 500 keV: Resonance Neutrons

The cross section of the 147Sm(n, α) reaction was measured from 3 eV to 500 keV at ORELA in the frame of an ORNL – FLNP collaboration. Total α-particle widths of 104 resolved neutron resonances with spin Jπ = 3- or Jπ=4- were measured in the energy interval 3 eV - 700 eV. A statistical analysis of α-particle widths of the resonances was carried out for each spin state. Deviations of the α-width distributions from statistical theory are discussed. A detailed discussion is devoted to a specific resonance (or doublet) at E0 = 184 eV having an unusual α-particle spectrum and unusually large α-particle and neutron widths.