Using proton-inelastic scattering and transfer reactions to constrain neutron-induced cross sections with the Surrogate Method

Neutron-induced reactions on unstable nuclei are of interest for applications as well as nuclear astrophysics. However, due to the short-lived nature of all the participants such reactions can be very difficult or impossible to measure directly. Because of the importance of these reactions several indirect methods have been developed to constrain them. One such technique is called the Surrogate Reaction Method (SRM). In the SRM an experimentally-tractable reaction is chosen that forms the "same" compound nucleus as would be created in the desired reaction. The decay of this compound nucleus is measured, and the measurements are used to constrain calculations of the desired reaction.

The SRM has been shown to constrain neutron-capture reactions using (d,p) and (p,d) as surrogate reactions. I will discuss an experiment to benchmark the use of proton-inelastic scattering and a neutron-capture surrogate. I will share new results and discuss directions for future work.