Thick target neutron yield from 145 MeV 19F+27Al system

• Experimental data are compared with results from PACE and EMPIRE codes.
• The PACE code predicts the slope and the end point energy reasonably well.
• The EMPIRE code predicts a harder slope but yields closer to experimental results.
• Results from the codes agree with experimental data only at the backward angles.
• The results suggest some pre-equilibrium emissions at 145 MeV incident energy.

The double differential neutron energy distribution has been measured for the 19F+27Al system at 145 MeV projectile energy. The time of flight technique was used to measure the energy while pulse shape discrimination has been used to separate the neutrons from photons. The results are compared with the statistical nuclear reaction model codes PACE and EMPIRE. The PACE code appears to predict the slope and the end point energy of the experimental spectra fairly well but over predicts the values. The slope obtained from the EMPIRE calculations appears to be harder while the values being closer to the experimental results. The yield from the Hauser–Feshbach based compound nucleus model calculations agree reasonably well with the experimental results at the backward angles but not in the forward directions. The energy integrated angular distribution from 145 MeV projectiles show an enhanced emission in the forward angles compared to the similar results from 110 MeV projectiles. This analysis suggests some contribution from the pre-equilibrium emissions from the system at the higher projectile energy.