Measurement of excitation functions for natCu(α, x) reactions with detailed covariance analysis

Abstract

The excitation functions of 66Ga, 67Ga, 65Zn and 64Cu radioisotopes produced via alpha-induced reaction on nat Cu were measured using a stacked foil activation method. The gamma-ray activity produced by the above mentioned radionuclides was measured using the HPGe detector. The covariance analysis was performed to quantify the measured cross-section uncertainties as well as the correlation between different alpha energy cross-sections. A covariance matrix and cross-sections for the natCu(α, x)66Ga, natCu(α, x)67Ga, natCu(α, x)65Zn and natCu(α, x)64Cu nuclear reactions in the projectile energy range of 15-37 MeV are reported in the present work. The measured reaction cross-sections are compared with the existing experimental data and theoretically simulated results from the TALYS code. © 2022 IOP Publishing Ltd.