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An excess of strength on the low-energy tail of the giant dipole resonance recently has been observed in the γ-decay from the quasicontinuum of 195,196Pt. The nature of this phenomenon is not yet fully investigated. If this feature is present also in the γ-ray strength of the neutron-rich isotopes, it can affect the neutron-capture reactions involved in the formation of heavy-elements in stellar nucleosynthesis. The experimental level density and γ-ray strength function of 195,196 Pt are presented together with preliminary calculations of the corresponding neutron-capture cross sections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have been many reports of non-statistical effects in neutron-capture measurements. However, reports of deviations of reduced-neutron-width (Γn0) distributions from the expected Porter-Thomas (PT) shape largely have been ignored. Most of these deviations have been reported for odd-A nuclides. Because reliable spin (J) assignments have been absent for most resonances for such nuclides, it is possible that reported deviations from PT might be due to incorrect J assignments. We recently developed a new method for measuring spins of neutron resonances by using the DANCE detector at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE). Measurements made with a 147Sm sample allowed us to determine spins of almost all known resonances below 1 keV. Furthermore, analysis of these data revealed that the Γn0 distribution was in good agreement with PT for resonances below 350 eV, but in disagreement with PT for resonances between 350 and 700 eV. Our previous (n,α) measurements had revealed that the α strength function also changes abruptly at this energy. There currently is no known explanation for these two non-statistical effects. Recently, we have developed another new method for determining the spins of neutron resonances. To implement this technique required a small change (to record pulse-height information for coincidence events) to a much simpler apparatus: A pair of C6D6 γ-ray detectors which we have employed for many years to measure neutron-capture cross sections at the Oak Ridge Electron Linear Accelerator (ORELA). Measurements with a 95Mo sample revealed that not only does the method work very well for determining spins, but it also makes possible parity assignments. Taken together, these new techniques at LANSCE and ORELA could be very useful for further elucidation of non-statistical effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of its small cross section, the [sup 88]Sr(n,γ) reaction is an important bottleneck during s-process nucleosynthesis. Hence, an accurate determination of this rate is needed to better constrain the neutron exposure in s-process models and to more fully exploit the recently discovered isotopic anomalies in certain meteorites. We have completed the resonance analysis of our new and improved measurements of the neutron capture and total cross sections for [sup 88]Sr made at the Oak Ridge Electron Linear Accelerator (ORELA). We describe our experimental procedures and resonance analysis, compare our results to previous data, and discuss their astrophysical impact. © 2000 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High quality neutron capture and transmission data were measured on isotopically enriched 192,194,195,196Pt and natural Pt samples at ORELA. R-matrix analysis of this data revealed resonance parameters for 159, 413, 423, 258, and 11 neutron resonances for neutron energies below 5.0, 16.0, 7.5, 16.0, and 5.0 keV for 192,194,195,196,198Pt+n, respectively. Earlier analysis of data on reduced neutron widths, Γ0n, showed that the distributions of Γ0n for 192,194Pt deviate significantly from the Porter-Thomas distribution (PTD) predicted by random matrix theory. In this contribution we report on preliminary results of the analysis of distribution of total radiation widths, Γγ, in 192,194,195,196Pt+n reactions. Comparison of experimental data with predictions made within the nuclear statistical model indicates that standard models of Photon Strength Functions (PSFs) and Nuclear Level Density predict Γγ distributions which are too narrow. We found that satisfactory agreement between experimental and simulated distributions can be obtained only by a strong suppression of the PSFs at low γ-ray energies and/or by violation of the usual assumption that primary transitions from neutron resonances follow the PTD. The shape of PSFs needed for reproduction of our Γγ data also nicely reproduces spectra from several (n,γ) experiments on the neighbor nuclide198Au. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]