Measurement of the thermal neutron cross section and resonance integral of the ¹⁸⁷Re(n,γ)¹⁸⁸Re reaction

We measured the thermal neutron capture cross sections (σ₀) and resonance integral (I₀) of the ¹⁸⁷Re(n,γ)¹⁸⁸Re reaction relative to that of the ¹⁹⁷Au(n,γ)¹⁹⁸Au monitor reaction using neutron activation with the Cd ratio method. The investigated samples and monitors were irradiated with and without a 0.5-mm-thick Cd cover for the pulsed neutron source based on the 100-MeV electron linac at the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory (PAL). The induced activities for the reaction products were measured using a high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector. In order to improve the accuracy of the experimental results, the necessary corrections were made. The thermal neutron capture cross sections and resonance integral of the ¹⁸⁷Re(n,γ)¹⁸⁸Re reaction were determined relative to reference values of σ_o,Au = 98.65 ± 0.09 barn and I_o,Au = 1550 ± 28 barn from the ¹⁹⁷Au(n,γ)¹⁹⁸Au reaction, respectively. The corresponding values for the ¹⁸⁷Re(n,γ)¹⁸⁸Re reaction were determined to be σ_0,Re = 75.6 ± 3.4 barn and I_0,Re = 317 ± 22 barn, respectively. The obtained results are compared with the literature data and discussed.