Gamma rays from thermal-neutron capture in natural and 39K enriched potassium

Abstract

Gamma rays following thermal-neutron capture in natural and in 39K enriched potassium have been investigated with a Ge(Li) and a Ge(Li)-NaI spectrometer. In the 39K(n,γ)40K reaction 222 γ-rays were found, of which 187 could be fitted into the level scheme of 40K. Fifteen γ-rays could be ascribed to the 41K(n, γ)42K reaction. Excitation energies of 54 levels in 40K and of 9 levels in 42K have been determined with 0.2−1.0 keV errors. The Q-values of the 39K(n, γ)40K and 41K(n, γ)42K reactions are Q = 7799.7 ±0.8 keV and 7533.9±1.2 keV, respectively.