Measurements and uncertainty propagation for the natNi(p,x)61Cu reaction cross section up to the proton energies of 20 MeV

The natNi(p,x)61Cu reaction cross sections relative to natCu(p,x)62Zn monitor reaction with proton energies up to 20 MeV have been measured using the stack foil activation and off-line γ-ray spectrometric technique. The error analysis of the experimental data was done by using the concept of covariance analysis. The present experimental cross sections have been compared with TALYS-1.8 and the results obtained well predicted the present experimental cross sections at the proton energies of 7.25, 15.70 and 18.89 MeV. The results from TALYS calculation are also in agreement with the earlier measurements available in the literature between the proton energies of 3-15 MeV, which confirms the reliability of the database. The natNi(p,x)61Cu reaction cross sections obtained in the present work have been further compared with the data from TENDL-2015 libraries. They are found to be in excellent agreement with TENDL-2015 at 7.25 and 15.70 MeV. The present results along with detailed covariance information, which takes into account various attributes influencing the uncertainties and also the correlation between them, emphasize their significance during evaluation process in the proton induced reactions of natural nickel for the production of medically relevant radioisotope, 61Cu.