Parity Nonconservation in 106Pd and 108Pd Neutron Resonances

Abstract

Parity nonconservation (PNC) has been studied in the neutron p-wave resonances of 106Pd and 108Pd in the energy range of 20 to 2000 eV. Longitudinal asymmetries in p-wave capture cross sections are measured using longitudinally polarized neutrons incident on ∼20-g metal-powder targets at LANSCE. A CsI γ-ray detector array measures capture cross section asymmetries as a function of neutron energy which is determined by the neutron time-of-flight method. A total of 21 p-wave resonances in 106Pd and 21 p-wave resonances in 108Pd were studied. One statistically significant PNC effect was observed in106Pd, and no effects were observed in 108Pd. For 106Pd a weak spreading width of Γw=34-28+47×10-7 eV was obtained. For 108Pd an upper limit on the weak spreading width of Γw\u3c12×10-7 eV was determined at the 68% confidence level