THE 51V(n, )52V REACTION

The gamma radiation following thermal neutron capture by vanadium has been studied using a Ge(Li) detector. A separation energy of 7 311 ± 2 keV was determined and the ground-state triplet was observed, confirming levels of 17 and 23 keV. Coincidence measurements were used to assist in the construction of a decay scheme which includes 97% of the total observed intensity. The agreement with (d, p) measurements is very good and permits one to conclude that essentially all of the observed transitions are E1. The lack of any correlation between reduced radiation widths and stripping strengths suggests the absence of direct capture.