Thin target 7Li(p, p′γ)7Li inelastic gamma-ray yield measurements

Thin target angular distributions of inelastic gamma-ray yields resulting from ⁷Li(p, p′γ)⁷Li interaction have been measured for incident proton energies between 1.0 and 1.8 MeV. McMaster 3 MV KN Van de Graaff accelerator facility primarily dedicated to in-vivo neutron activation measurements has been used to perform experiments using a thin lithium metal target and 7.62 cm × 7.62 cm, 12.7 cm × 12.7 cm NaI(Tl) scintillation detectors and HPGe detectors. The uncertainty in the relative yield determination is based on the statistics of the data, uncertainty in the 478 keV peak area determination due to other interfering reactions, and the uncertainty in the recording of the proton charge. The results for the angular distribution provide an evidence for anisotropic nature of the radiation as compared to the presumed isotropic nature. The total relative yield was determined from the angular distributions and then compared with the published total cross sections for the reaction. Thick target yields calculated from thin target yields were also found to be in good agreement with other studies.