International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Research Applications and Utilization of Accelerators
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ADS/ND-08 Low-Energy Photonuclear Reactions — A Review B.L. Berman The George Washington University, Washington DC, United States of America Corresponding Author: cole@darwin.iac.isu.edu The study of photonuclear reactions has a long and rich history, dating back to the 1930s. Indeed, probably no other branch of nuclear physics has such an extensive record of fertilizing others; and its applications are more extensive that of any other field of nuclear physics except for neutron physics. The impetus for these studies was provided since the 1960s mainly by the availability of monochromatic photon beams and efficient neutron detectors. The basic cross sections, both near threshold and in the Giant Dipole Resonance region, for the most part have been known since the 1970s. What is new today is the advent of high-intensity polarized monochromatic photon beams, capable of extending our detailed knowledge of photonuclear processes, and the emergence of important applications in medical physics, nonproliferation, and counterterrorism that can best be addressed with their use. Accordingly, this talk will focus on new developments in the study of reactions with polarized photon beams, especially of fewbody nuclei, high-resolution resonance fluorescence, and photofission studies of the uranium isotopes and transuranic nuclei.
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