High resolution measurement of the 208Pb(p,γ) capture reaction up to Eγ=19 MeV

Abstract High-energy γ rays produced by the 208 Pb ( p , γ) reaction were measured with the AFRODITE germanium detector array. The use of Ge instead of NaI detectors improved the energy resolution by more than a factor of 10 in the γ -ray energy range between 10 and 19 MeV. Proton captures into different single particles states in 209 Bi were thus clearly separated, most notably for the i 13/2 high-spin state. The measured excitation functions are in very good agreement with the predictions of the direct–semi-direct model, including captures to the i 13/2 state, for which the previous agreement had been poor.