Spin assignment of neutron resonances via (n, γ) and (n, α) reactions

Several methods exist for determining the spins of neutron resonances which exploit the spin dependence of (n, γ) and (n, α) spectra. In the case of radiative capture, two methods, and the results achieved, are described in detail: the multiplicity method and the low-lying level population method. The obtained results have been used to provide estimates of the spin cut-off parameter σ and to study the possible spin dependence of the s-wave neutron strength function. It has been found that the population of the low-lying states depends significantly not only on the parity of the initial state. Finally, spin assignments based on (n, α) reaction are described for the target nuclei 143Nd and 147Sm