The Gamma-Ray Yield of Phosphorus Bombarded with Protons

Abstract

Protons from a van de graaff generator have been used to bombard ${\mathrm{P}}^{31}$, and the reaction ${\mathrm{P}}^{31}(p,\ensuremath{\gamma}){\mathrm{S}}^{32}$ has been studied. The gamma-ray yield has been measured, as a function of proton energy, in the region between 400 and 1700 kev. Maxima in the gamma-ray yield occur at proton energies of 440, 550, 650, 817, 890, 1067, 1100, 1129, 1162, 1265, 1421, 1458, 1495, 1538, 1583, and 1610 kev. Absorption measurements of the gamma-rays from the strongest resonance, that at 1265 kev, indicate a quantum energy of 12 Mev, which is consistent with the assumption that the compound nucleus decays to the ground state by a single transition.