Application of Nuclear Reaction Models for Neutron Nuclear Data Evaluation: Statistical and Optical Model Calculations for ^134–138Ba

Average neutron-induced reaction cross sections for ^134–138Ba (the barium isotopes of mass number 134 through 138) for incident energies between 20 keV and 20 MeV have been calculated by means of the optical and the statistical model with consideration of preequilibrium emission. The calculations comprise the total, the nonelastic, the differential elastic, and the (n,γ), (n,xnγ), (n,pγ), (n,pnγ), and (n,npγ) cross sections, as well as the production spectra of neutrons, protons, and gamma rays. For the model calculations, a consistent set of parameters based as much as possible on experimental data was employed. The computed cross sections are compared to available experimental results. Since such theoretical calculations are also of importance for nuclear data evaluation in cases where no experimental data exist, accuracy estimates of the predicted cross sections are given.