Astrophysical benchmarks of the Evaluated Nuclear Data File library

The Cross Section Evaluation Working Group at Brookhaven National Laboratory is currently developing the next release of the Evaluated Nuclear Data File (ENDF), known as ENDF/B-VIII.1, with a scheduled release in February 2024. The ENDF libraries are the primary and widely-recognized source of nuclear reaction data for various earthbound nuclear applications, including reactors and detector systems. They play a critical role in providing essential nuclear data, such as cross sections and decay data, crucial for designing and analyzing nuclear reactors. The main objective of this project is to evaluate and compare the performance of the beta release of ENDF/B-VIII.1 against several other evaluated data libraries and experimental results, using various integral metrics. Among these metrics is the Maxwellian Average Cross Section at 30 keV (MACS(30 keV)), representing the average cross section of neutrons in a thermal bath at 30 keV. This metric holds significant importance as a key input in simulations of nucleosynthesis processes. The next phase of the project involves utilizing the information stored in the ENDF library to predict isotopic abundances resulting from nucleosynthesis. To facilitate the collation process and enhance the project, I utilized Python to introduce several new classes. This allowed for seamless incorporation of the latest nuclear data libraries, aiding in the comprehensive evaluation and comparison of different data sources.