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Resolve the 2.30 MeV and 2.31 MeV γ-ray contributions

Resolve and individually measure the production cross sections of the 2.30 MeV γ ray from 15N(7/2+) and the 2.31 MeV γ ray from 14N(0+) produced in 16O(n,Xγ) reactions, which are indistinguishable in the current HPGe-based measurement.

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Background

The measured spectrum includes nearby γ-ray lines at 2.30 MeV (15N*) and 2.31 MeV (14N*) that are too close to be separated given Doppler broadening and detector resolution, leading the authors to report an inclusive cross section for the combined contribution.

Separating these lines is relevant for precise attribution of reaction pathways and for refining nuclear models used to interpret γ-ray signals in water Cherenkov detectors.

References

The 2.31 MeV peak cannot be distinguished from the 2.30 MeV γ-ray peak by the HPGe detector, hence we measure the inclusive cross section for these two γ-rays.

— Measurement of $γ$-rays generated by neutron interaction with ${}^{16}$O at 30 MeV and 250 MeV (2405.15366 - Tano et al., 24 May 2024) in Subsection "Observed γ-ray peaks", Section 4 (Nuclear Deexcitation γ-rays)