Neutron capture cross section of 76Ge

The (n, γ) cross section of 76Ge is important for s-process nucleosynthesis in Red Giant Stars as well as for obtaining reliable background estimates in double beta decay experiments. So far, this reaction has been described only by theoretical data. The present measurement was based on the activation technique. Neutrons were produced at the Karlsruhe Van de Graaff accelerator via the 7Li(p, n)7Be reaction. For proton energies just above threshold, one obtains a neutron spectrum similar to a Maxwellian distribution for kT = 25 keV. A set of samples was irradiated in this quasi-stellar neutron spectrum together with gold foils for normalization of the neutron flux. The results obtained at kT = 25 keV are presented and an extrapolation to lower and higher thermal energies is suggested. (orig.)