Atomic and Ionic Recoil from the (<i>n,</i> γ) Reaction

Abstract

The occurrence of charge on the recoil atoms produced by the (n, γ) reaction has been examined for several elements and for different chemical states of the same element. The fraction of the recoil atoms leaving a substrate and crossing a potential gap that carries a positive charge was determined by observing the ratio of the atoms on charged and uncharged collector cylinders. The fractions of positively charged recoils are, for In, 0.46; In2S3, 0.50; In2O3, 0.55; InF3, 0.40; Mn, 0.52; KMnO4, 0.56; Dy2O3, 0.63. From considerations of the capture gamma-ray-decay schemes and lifetimes of states giving rise to transitions by conversion electron it appears that, in a condensed medium, the recoiling atom rarely develops a charge prior to the loss of its initial kinetic energy.