A schematic model for the description of (p, xn) reactions in heavy elements is presented. Reactions are divided into two steps, a prompt multiple collision process, followed by an evaporation stage. The various prompt processes are given by the results of Monte Carlo calculations, while the evaporation processes are described by a simplified model assuming constant nuclear temperatures and only neutron evaporation. The resulting (p, xn), and to a minor degree (p, pxn), cross sections are compared with the experimental data of Bell and Skarsgard (1956) in the energy range up to 100 Mev. With an average neutron binding energy of around 7.3 Mev., a nuclear temperature of about 1.8 Mev., and a nuclear radius of 8.0 × 10−13 cm., a reasonable over-all fit can be made to the data for Pb206, Pb207, Pb208, and Bi209. Characteristic fluctuations in the experimental results for the (p, 2n), (p, 3n), and (p, 4n) reactions for all targets seem to be attributable to variations in the total reaction cross section, and are not reproduced by the present model.
AVERAGE NEUTRON WIDTH, RADIATIVE WIDTH, AND LEVEL SPACING FOR U-238 IN THE REGION 1 KV TO 400 KV