Delayed neutron and delayed photon characteristics from photofission of 232Th, 235,238U, and 237Np with endpoint Bremsstrahlung photons in the giant dipole resonance region.

A renewed interest in photonuclear reactions was stimulated by applications as radioactive ion beam production, irradiation stations by high energy photons, shielding of electron accelerators, etc. Today, a particular attention is paid to the non-destructive characterization of waste barrels and the detection of nuclear materials, both based on photofission process and the associated delayed neutron (DN) and delayed photon (DP) emissions. The need of accurate and complete data for DN and DP yields and time characteristics of actinides was the motivation for an experimental campaign, started in 2004. In this paper, the experimental setup and the data analysis method will be presented and the modeling work will be described. Experimental results for DN and DP characteristics will be compared to calculations in the case of photofission of ²³²Th, ^235,238U, and ²³⁷Np. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]