A New Empirical Formalism for (n,3n) Reaction Cross Sections of Even–Even Nuclei Induced by 14–15 MeV Neutrons

Direct measurements of nuclear reaction cross sections are not feasible for all target nucleus mass regions and incident particle energies due to experimental difficulties, such as stable target availability, energy resolution, and reaction threshold constraints. In such kind of situation, nuclear cross sections must be evaluated using empirical systematics or theoretical model calculations. In this work, a new empirical formula is presented for the calculation of (n,3n) reaction cross sections induced by 14–15 MeV neutrons, developed within the framework of the statistical model with inclusion of the reaction \(\:{\text{Q}}_{\text{n}}\) -value. It is obtained through a least-squares fit to experimental data for even–even heavy nuclei in the mass range \(\:146\le\:\text{A}\le\:238\) . The results of the present empirical formula are compared with both experimental data and TALYS 1.95 code calculations. The systematic analysis presented in this paper provides a reference for the (n,3n) reaction channel, particularly in view of the lack of literature data at neutron energies of 14–15 MeV.