A study of the 51 V(n, n′γ) 51 V reaction

The results of a measurement of the51V(n, n′γ)51V reaction are presented for incident-neutron energies ranging from 1.3 MeV to 3.9 MeV. The pulsed-beam time-of-flight technique was used to obtain a good discrimination between neutrons and de-excitation γ-rays, which were collected by means of a true coaxial Ge(Li) detector. In this way the levels and the decay scheme of the51V nucleus were determined and, through the comparison of the measured excitation functions with the predictions of the statistical theory of the compound nucleus,Jπ assignments were proposed and compared with the results reported in the literature.